Jump to content
The Official RONR Q & A Forums

Tie Vote


ljberg

Recommended Posts

The bylaws provide that the chairperson (who is a non-voting member of the board of directors) is elected by the members. State law requires that the board of directors are elected by plurality. If there is a tie vote to elect the chairperson among 2 nominees, should the members re-vote among those 2 nominees, or should all the nominees be re-voted on. Also, could the board of directors vote to break the tie?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The bylaws provide that the chairperson (who is a non-voting member of the board of directors) is elected by the members. State law requires that the board of directors are elected by plurality. If there is a tie vote to elect the chairperson among 2 nominees, should the members re-vote among those 2 nominees, or should all the nominees be re-voted on.

Let's go with this interpretation of your situation as I read it (and correct me if I'm wrong):

The general membership elects the chairperson. At the election, there were several nominees, but the top two vote getters received an equal number of votes, resulting in a tie.

So, you have an incomplete election, since no one person received more votes than any other person. The membership needs to hold additional rounds of voting until one clear winner appears. (RONR 11th Ed. p. 441 ll. 1-5) Absent any applicable rule or law, none of the other nominees is dropped from the ballot, although they may withdraw of their own accord. (RONR 11th Ed. p. 441 ll. 5-8)

Also, could the board of directors vote to break the tie?

Unless your bylaws or other rules say otherwise, the Board does not have this authority.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for the replies.

The members that elect the chair are members of the association, not members of the board of directors. Bylaws do not address breaking any tie vote of the chair election.

The company is in the process of amending the bylaws, should we have a procedure that the board of directors could break the tie?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for the replies.

The members that elect the chair are members of the association, not members of the board of directors. Bylaws do not address breaking any tie vote of the chair election.

The company is in the process of amending the bylaws, should we have a procedure that the board of directors could break the tie?

I think it's fair to say the membership can adopt any rule (bylaw) they wish to, as long as it is not in conflict with a higher rule. However, assuming your bylaws state that RONR is your parliamentary authority, then you already have a procedure for this - reballoting until a winner is elected. Whether it's advisable to put the tie-breaking authority in the hands of the Board is up to the members.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...