No quorum, appoint?

[Guest Carrie]

Last spring our organization had nobody run for president. A motion was made to suspend the rules, which would have allowed the exec council to appoint for the position. The rationale was to allow one candidate to be on the ballot after completing another obligation that prohibited her from running, and a second candidate who had been pink slipped and may or may not have a job at the work place. Now, three months later, one candidate is not running and the other is on the fence. Our vp has agreed to be on the ballot if again nobody steps up. So . . . If nobody steps up do we even have to have an election? Could we just follow the bylaws and appoint the president? Or do we need another motion?

And a related question . . . What happens if we do not have enough for a quorum? Do we have to post another date for election or just appoint?

[Guest Edgar]

Could we just follow the bylaws and appoint the president?

Well, you should certainly "just" follow the bylaws but I'll assume you're referring to a provision that gives someone (the president?) or some body (the board?) the authority to fill mid-term vacancies. But what you have is not a mid-term vacancy but, rather, an incomplete election. So you'll keep trying to get a quorum to show up and then you'll complete the election.

[sMargaret]

To add to Guest_Edgar, if you don't have enough members for a quorum, then post another date and try again for the quorum. Don't appoint in an inquorate meeting.