Chair voting

[Guest Karl]

Our by-laws provide that the President only votes by secret ballot or to make or break a tie.  Here's where the question comes in. 

 

If the President gives up the Chair of the meeting, and the VP becomes Chair, does the VP lose his right to vote since he is now Chair of the meeting? 

 

Also, we are presuming that since the President is still President,  even though he gave up his Chair, he still does not vote unless as provided for in the by-laws.

[Bruce Lages]

If your bylaws state specifically that the president is restricted to voting only under these conditions, then I believe that those restrictions apply to the president whether he is in the chair or not. If you have adopted RONR as your parliamentary authority, however, you don't need this statement in your bylaws at all, since RONR covers this situation as it applies specifically to whoever is in the chair (RONR, 11th ed.,p.53, l.15 - p.54, l.6). 

[Guest Karl]

Yes our bylaws state specific restrictions about the President voting.  We have also adopted RONR 11th edition.  The restriction to the President voting is mentioned in the same paragraph, right after it is said that the President presides at all meetings.    I would think that the intent of the restriction would be to prevent the Chair from voting......but it says what it says.

[Bruce Lages]

Take a look at FAQ 1 on the Frequently Asked Questions page to see what RONR has to say about the presiding officer's voting rights and obligations.

[Guest Karl]

Thanks.   Have read that one before, but always thought that by-laws are ahead of RONR in authority.  Might need to look at changing the by-laws.  Doesn't seem right that the President can't vote even when they aren't chairing the meeting.

[Dan Honemann]

Thanks.   Have read that one before, but always thought that by-laws are ahead of RONR in authority.  Might need to look at changing the by-laws.  Doesn't seem right that the President can't vote even when they aren't chairing the meeting.

 

Yes, bylaws are ahead of RONR in authority. If the intent is to have the bylaws provide what the rules in RONR now provide, the best thing to do is to simply strike from the bylaws everything in them concerning the President's right to vote.

[Guest Joni Cook]

Does the Chair vote other than to break a tie?

 

[Josh Martin]

Does the Chair vote other than to break a tie?

 

See FAQ #1.

 

For future reference, it's generally best to post a new question as a new topic, even if an existing topic is similar.