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Where did "Call The Question" come from?


Guest Daniel

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  Ok, new question.  To end debate, and take a vote on a motion, a member can move the previous question.  But in every meeting I have been at, this has been referred to as "Calling the question".  Where did the phrase "calling the question" come from?  Why do so many people use this term rather than "move the previous question"?

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Why do so many people use this term rather than "move the previous question"?

 

Perhaps because many people scratch their heads wondering why the previous question (which had already been moved) would be "moved" again (i.e. voted on) when it's the current question that they want to vote on.

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Perhaps because many people scratch their heads wondering why the previous question (which had already been moved) would be "moved" again (i.e. voted on) when it's the current question that they want to vote on.

I agree.  Which makes me wonder why the wording "previous question" was used in the first place?  Has our language changed in the last 150 years or so enough that what would make the average person scratch their heads today would have been perfectly clear then?

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I agree. Which makes me wonder why the wording "previous question" was used in the first place? Has our language changed in the last 150 years or so enough that what would make the average person scratch their heads today would have been perfectly clear then?

It doesn't really matter all that much, since the people who "call the question" rarely have any better idea what it means than if the form "I demand the previous question," or any of the other traditional forms, were used.

It's not ignorance of terminology that is the real problem (IMHO), but ignorance of procedure. How many people at the average meeting understand that, unless there is unanimous consent, you make a motion in order to vote on a motion before the debate has ended naturally?

["Huh? How can we vote on another motion while a motion is on the floor. The question has been called, so we gotta vote now, right?"]

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