Motion to table?

[gregory]

We have a set of bylaw amendment motions that were made and seconded

at our last membership meeting and now on the agenda and scheduled to be\

voted on at this upcoming membership meeting.

Another member has suggested we can make a motion to table all the bylaw

amendment voting "BEFORE" the voting actually begins as this is somewhat

acceptable as per RONR.

I hope this is correct as I would be in favor of tabling the bylaw amendments,

but I fear it is not. Please refer me to the page number in RONR that most

clearly speaks to this. Thanks.

[Chris Harrison]

When you say "tabling" do you mean postponing its consideration for a later meeting (and if so when?) or to kill it altogether?

[Guest Edgar]

Another member has suggested we can make a motion to table all the bylaw amendment voting "BEFORE" the voting actually begins as this is somewhat acceptable as per RONR.

I hope this is correct as I would be in favor of tabling the bylaw amendments, but I fear it is not.

I trust you've already read FAQs #12 and #13.

[Tim Wynn]

We have a set of bylaw amendment motions that were made and seconded

at our last membership meeting and now on the agenda and scheduled to be\

voted on at this upcoming membership meeting.

Another member has suggested we can make a motion to table all the bylaw

amendment voting "BEFORE" the voting actually begins as this is somewhat

acceptable as per RONR.

I hope this is correct as I would be in favor of tabling the bylaw amendments,

but I fear it is not. Please refer me to the page number in RONR that most

clearly speaks to this. Thanks.

Voting is only one part of the process of considering a motion. No subsidiary motion can be applied to the act of voting. It would be applied to the amendment itself, when it is pending. The time to make any subsidiary motion would be BEFORE voting.

[gregory]

Tim, due to the quirky way our Union conducts Union business at membership meetings,

we make bylaw amendments at the 2nd membership meeting then vote on them at

3rd membership meetings per our bylaws.

The bylaw amendments have been made and seconded and that round of meetings is over.

Now were two weeks away from starting the 3rd round of membership meetings and one member thought

as long as voting hasn't started yet, which it hasn't, then any member can make a motion at the start of the

3rd membership meetings to table the

bylaw amendment to enact a "assembly" style membership meeting. The person wants to table the

motion, to allow ALL members to vote via some sort of internet or mail vote.

Currently only members who actually attend the membership meeting are allowed to vote.

I deparately see the value of all members being allowed to vote, but I know the powers

that be won't allow a bylaw amendment motion to be tabled, especially to allow members to

vote that aren't present at a membership meeting.

Can this work, is it crazy. How can I advise him, to make this work?

[Larry Cisar]

Delaying the vote is going to, in part, depend upon what exactly your bylaws say -- it is up to your organization to interpret what they mean.

[Tim Wynn]

Tim, due to the quirky way our Union conducts Union business at membership meetings,

we make bylaw amendments at the 2nd membership meeting then vote on them at

3rd membership meetings per our bylaws.

The bylaw amendments have been made and seconded and that round of meetings is over.

Now were two weeks away from starting the 3rd round of membership meetings and one member thought

as long as voting hasn't started yet, which it hasn't, then any member can make a motion at the start of the

3rd membership meetings to table the

bylaw amendment to enact a "assembly" style membership meeting. The person wants to table the

motion, to allow ALL members to vote via some sort of internet or mail vote.

Currently only members who actually attend the membership meeting are allowed to vote.

I deparately see the value of all members being allowed to vote, but I know the powers

that be won't allow a bylaw amendment motion to be tabled, especially to allow members to

vote that aren't present at a membership meeting.

Can this work, is it crazy. How can I advise him, to make this work?

Voting by Internet or mail will have to be authorized in your bylaws. Otherwise, you won't be able to do it. As Mr. Cisar has said, whether or not you can postpone the vote would depend on the determination of the meaning of the bylaw provisions that govern the voting procedure.

However, if a bylaw amendment is adopted or lost, another bylaw amendment covering the same ground should, in most cases, still be in order at a later session, as long as the procedure for amendment is followed. In other words, if the members don't like the outcome, they can always try again, and maybe it will spawn a larger turn out or motivate an amendment to the bylaws to adjust the voting process.

[Sean Hunt]

Tim, due to the quirky way our Union conducts Union business at membership meetings,

we make bylaw amendments at the 2nd membership meeting then vote on them at

3rd membership meetings per our bylaws.

The bylaw amendments have been made and seconded and that round of meetings is over.

Now were two weeks away from starting the 3rd round of membership meetings and one member thought

as long as voting hasn't started yet, which it hasn't, then any member can make a motion at the start of the

3rd membership meetings to table the

bylaw amendment to enact a "assembly" style membership meeting.

This is almost true. The motion to Lay on the Table, which is described in RONR (11th ed), §17, can be made at any time prior to the taking of the vote. This motion, however, is only for interrupting consideration of one piece of business because there is a more urgent matter to be dealt with. It is most definitely not for the purpose delaying a motion beyond the end of the meeting (although it may happen that the assembly never manages to get back to that business before adjourning). See RONR (11th ed), pp. 215-216, as well as p. 210, ll. 9-11.

The person wants to table the

motion, to allow ALL members to vote via some sort of internet or mail vote.

Currently only members who actually attend the membership meeting are allowed to vote.

There are two problems here. The first is that this is a terrible, terrible misuse of Lay on the Table; it most certainly does not affect the manner in which the vote is taken. The second is that unless your bylaws specifically allow absentee voting, such as by internet or mail vote, it cannot be done, and any action so taken would be null and void. If the member wishes to use internet or mail voting in the future for bylaw amendments, he would first have to get an amendment adopted to authorize it.

I deparately see the value of all members being allowed to vote, but I know the powers

that be won't allow a bylaw amendment motion to be tabled, especially to allow members to

vote that aren't present at a membership meeting.

Who are the "powers that be"? The only group deciding, ultimately, whether or not to table the motion or do anything else with it should be the assembly itself.