Unanimous Vote?

[Guest Gary]

At a meeting of the board of our historical society a motion was made to approve a certain expenditure. It was a voice vote - all but two trustees voted aye. Two trustees abstained from voting. They simply remained silent. There were no nay votes. The two abstentions did not seem to be noticed. The president did not take note of the two abstentions. If I understand correctly, abstentions are not to be recorded or called for as they don't count anyway.

When the minutes were issued, the secretary recorded the vote for the expenditure as "unanimous." This has attracted the attention of one of the trustees who abstained. This trustee would like the minutes changed to indicate the vote was not unanimous.

Was the vote unanimous because there were no Nay votes? Do the two abstentions mean the vote was not unanimous?

If the vote was not unanimous, was is the correct way to record this in the minutes?

[Guest Frank]

Only votes cast count. The vote was unanimous. If they wanted to opposed they should have voted nay.

[Tim Wynn]

At a meeting of the board of our historical society a motion was made to approve a certain expenditure. It was a voice vote - all but two trustees voted aye. Two trustees abstained from voting. They simply remained silent. There were no nay votes. The two abstentions did not seem to be noticed. The president did not take note of the two abstentions. If I understand correctly, abstentions are not to be recorded or called for as they don't count anyway.

When the minutes were issued, the secretary recorded the vote for the expenditure as "unanimous." This has attracted the attention of one of the trustees who abstained. This trustee would like the minutes changed to indicate the vote was not unanimous.

Was the vote unanimous because there were no Nay votes? Do the two abstentions mean the vote was not unanimous?

If the vote was not unanimous, was is the correct way to record this in the minutes?

The minutes should simply state that the motion was adopted. There is no need to include any form of the word "unanimous," whether or not a vote is unanimous.