Executive Committee Motions

[Guest Erin T]

Our organization has an Executive Committee of elected and appointed officers.

1. If the EC votes yes as a group on a motion to present to the membership, when the vote is taken of the membership - all EC who voted against proposing the motion to membership must vote yes on the motion correct? Only members of EC who voted yes to the original motion can vote no during the membership vote, right?

2. If an EC member who voted no on the vote to propose the motion to the chapter resigns after the vote is taken in EC, is she still bound to vote yes since she was part of the original vote in EC?

[Kim Goldsworthy]

No member is obligated to VOTE for either side (affirmative or negative), based on that member's PREVIOUS vote taken on that issue.

• People are free to change their minds.

• There is no "loyalty rule" in Robert's Rules of Order, which compels me/you to forever to vote in the affirmative (or in the negative) regarding a given proposition, no matter how many board meetings, committee meetings, or general membership meetings, a given member had voted in.

[David A Foulkes]

Erin - it could be that an EC member voted yes initially in order to force the issue to be brought to the membership where s/he feels strongly that the membership will vote it down, along with his/her supporting no vote. As gebegb notes, in such as process as yours (two motions/votes procedure), no member is obligated to vote the second time as s/he did the first. Heck, a member can even make (or second) a motion, and still vote against it.

[Gary Novosielski]

1. Incorrect. Wrong.

2. Based on incorrect assumption, and as such has no truth value.