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Can wording of motion affect outcome of tie vote?


Guest L. Jones

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If a board is split and a tie is reached( including vote of president)  on a motion, would the wording of motion have  affect on result?  Example 1: To extend one year contract...tie vote.. motion does not pass...no contract or Example 2: Not to extend contract...tie vote...motion does not pass...means contract extended.   Same tie vote with either wording but different results.

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If a board is split and a tie is reached( including vote of president)  on a motion, would the wording of motion have  affect on result?

 

Not really. The result in any event is that the motion is lost. So nothing happens.

 

There is nothing special about a tie vote. Since there was not a majority in favor of the motion, the motion is lost.

 

Example 1: To extend one year contract...tie vote.. motion does not pass...no contract or Example 2: Not to extend contract...tie vote...motion does not pass...means contract extended.   Same tie vote with either wording but different results.

 

Presumably, the contract is not extended unless the board takes action to extend it. In such a case, a motion "not to extend the contract" is not in order, since the same objective could be accomplished by doing nothing. If such a motion is nonetheless admitted and defeated, the contract is not extended - so as you can see, the motion is pointless.

 

If the reverse is true for some reason (the contract is extended unless the board takes action), then only a motion to cancel the contract would be in order.

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If our Bylaws state that the president may cast the deciding vote on all questions in which there may be an equal division of votes does this mean that she gets to vote twice if a secret ballot results in a tie.

No.

Perhaps?

 

Though the general rule is that each member can cast only one vote, the bylaws may have (unwisely) given the president an additional vote in certain instances. Note that, in the case of a ballot vote, the chair is free to vote along with all the other members so any "deciding vote" might have to be a second vote by the president. See FAQ #1 for more on the chair's voting.

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I read the #3 question as implying that the president could vote only if there was a tie  --  a dumb rule.

 

But (as ever around here) it is contingent on the exact wording of the bylaws, and that is up to the association to sort out, not us here.  There might be a special non-RONR rule that applies to ballot votes.  Who knows?

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If a board has 21 members does RONR say anything more specific about secret ballots? It talks about small boards, 12 or less but what about a 21 member board? Who is it up to decide if a vote should be by hand or by ballot? I think in the past ballots have been used for motions to extend or not extend important  employment contracts to professionals.

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