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Coming to a Consensus in voting matters


Guest Lora Portsche

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My organization is having difficulty coming to a decision on a matter that requires a 2/3 vote yes or no, but the votes consistently come in 50/50. Are there procedures that are designed for such situations? Or is it appropriate to simply repeat the deliberation/voting process until a decision is reached.

Thanks,

Lora

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My organization is having difficulty coming to a decision on a matter that requires a 2/3 vote yes or no, but the votes consistently come in 50/50. Are there procedures that are designed for such situations? Or is it appropriate to simply repeat the deliberation/voting process until a decision is reached.

Thanks,

Lora

A two-thirds vote requires two thirds of those present and voting to vote in favor in order for the motion to be adopted. Anything short of that does not adopt the motion.

With a 50-50 result, the motion is clearly lost. Move on, but keep in mind that the motion can be renewed at the next session.

I hope that your rules don't specifically provide that the motion must receive two thirds in favor to be adopted and two thirds in the negative to prevent it from being adopted. This makes entirely no sense and is in conflict with itself.

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My organization is having difficulty coming to a decision on a matter that requires a 2/3 vote yes or no, but the votes consistently come in 50/50. Are there procedures that are designed for such situations? Or is it appropriate to simply repeat the deliberation/voting process until a decision is reached.

Thanks,

Lora

Can you give more information as to why you would need a 2/3 vote (either yes or no) to finally dispose of this matter? It sounds as though your group has already voted more than once... As Mr. Wynn points out, this would be a very unusual voting requirement, to say the least.

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My organization is having difficulty coming to a decision on a matter that requires a 2/3 vote yes or no, but the votes consistently come in 50/50. Are there procedures that are designed for such situations? Or is it appropriate to simply repeat the deliberation/voting process until a decision is reached.

I'm not clear on all the relevant facts, but such a situation would not arise under RONR, so it provides no advice on this subject. Your organization will have to live with the consequences of its customized rules. The closest analogy I can think of under RONR is an election, which only requires a majority vote, but this may require many rounds of balloting to attain if there are several candidates. In such cases, the appropriate course of action is indeed to "simply repeat the deliberation/voting process until a decision is reached," unless the organization's rules provide otherwise.

I hope that your rules don't specifically provide that the motion must receive two thirds in favor to be adopted and two thirds in the negative to prevent it from being adopted. This makes entirely no sense and is in conflict with itself.

Well, I don't think it's anything quite that nonsensical (although I wouldn't rule out anything on this forum), but there are certainly cases where some decision must be made, such as electing an officer or determining the location of the next convention. If the organization's rules prescribe a 2/3 vote, situations like these could lead to a very long night (and I speak from personal experience).

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