voting on amendments

[Guest Trish Brantingham]

A complex motion will be brought to the assembly. There are likely to be several amendments offered. Are the amendments discussed and voted on one at a time? Once an amendment passes and other amendments are offered and voted on, is it permissable to go back and amend the original amendment, or do secondary amendments have to be made at the time of the primary amendment?

[Tim Wynn]

A complex motion will be brought to the assembly. There are likely to be several amendments offered. Are the amendments discussed and voted on one at a time? Once an amendment passes and other amendments are offered and voted on, is it permissable to go back and amend the original amendment, or do secondary amendments have to be made at the time of the primary amendment?

When the main motion is pending, it is subject to primary amendment. When a primary amendment is pending, it is subject to secondary amendment.

A primary amendment proposes a change to the main motion. A secondary amendment proposes a change to the primary amendment.

[Robert B Fish]

A main motion can be amended until you are finished amending it. This process is called perfecting the motion.

When an amendment is moved, debate ceases on the main motion and debate degins on the amendment. An amendment requires a second and is debatable. A majority vote is required to adopt the amendment. If the amendment fails, debate returns to the main motion as stated. If the amendment passes, debate returns to the main motion as amended. When debate ends, the main motion as amended is voted on.

You can have amendments to the amendment but none beyond that. Using the principle that the assembly cannot be required to answer the same question more than once in a meeting (technically:session) except by the motion to reconsider, once an amendment has been dealt with, the chairman cannot allow essentially the same question to be moved again through amendment.

-Bob