Loss of Quorum with Motion on the Floor

[Guest Peter]

1) A motion was made and seconded

2) An Objection to Consideration of the Question was made

3) A vote was made (the Objection to Consideration lost)

4) A quorum was lost during the tallying of the votes

5) The loss of quorum was noted and the meeting was adjourned

 

Is the original motion (that survived the Objection to Consideration) now placed in Old Business at the next meeting?

[Edgar Guest]

I would think the tellers' report would come up as Unfinished Business. But stay tuned for the experts.

[Richard Brown]

Is the original motion (that survived the Objection to Consideration) now placed in Old Business at the next meeting?

 

I was about to say yes, but with a caveat, until I saw the response by Mr. Guest.  The caveat I was going to point out is that RONR does not recognize "old business".  The correct term is "Unfinished Business".  Mr. Guest's comment below, however, has me wondering if maybe the report of the vote on the objection to consideration should come up first.

 

I would think the tellers' report would come up as Unfinished Business. But stay tuned for the experts.

 

Good point.... or good question.    I'm assuming the vote was valid since the voting was completed before the loss of the quorum and that the quorum was lost during the tallying of the votes.  Since tallying votes isn't one of the four things that can be done in the absence of a quorum, I'm not sure.  I, too, am waiting to see what the "experts" have to say.   (And all this time I thought Mr. Guest was one!!!)

[Edgar Guest]

Mr. Guest's comment below, however, has me wondering if maybe the report of the vote on the objection to consideration should come up first.

 

I assumed that the objection to consideration had already been dispensed with (disposed of?). In other words (per item #3), it lost. What's pending is the vote count on the main motion.

[Peter Marx]

There has been no debate/discussion/vote on the main motion; it was motioned, seconded, and objected to.  The only thing voted on was the objection to consideration (which lost).

[Edgar Guest]

The only thing voted on was the objection to consideration (which lost).

 

Well, it hasn't officially lost since the tallying of the votes was interrupted by the loss of quorum. 

 

But I'm yielding to Mr. Brown on this one since he seems to have understood the scenario better than I.

[Sean Hunt]

No Book handy, but I would think that tallying the votes is not actually business of the assembly, as it can take place while the assembly is recessed. As a result, it can also take place when a quorum isn't present.

 

If an adjourned meeting is set, then, it should pick off precisely where the previous meeting left, namely, awaiting the tellers' report. So I agree with Mr. Guest.

[Richard Brown]

No Book handy, but I would think that tallying the votes is not actually business of the assembly, as it can take place while the assembly is recessed. As a result, it can also take place when a quorum isn't present.

 

If an adjourned meeting is set, then, it should pick off precisely where the previous meeting left, namely, awaiting the tellers' report. So I agree with Mr. Guest.

 

Those are my thoughts, too.   I do believe that the announcement of the vote result and the declaration by the chair that the objection to consideration failed would be the first item of unfinished business with the continued consideration of the original main motion that had been objected to being next.  I don't think it matters if the next meeting is an adjourned meeting or the next regular meeting, provided it is within a quarterly time interval.  The OP did not say that an adjourned meeting was set.

 

It is conceivable that there could be a point of order raised after the chair's announcement of the vote result or a motion for a recount (RONR, page 410).  A call for a division seems unlikely, as this was probably a ballot vote, since members were leaving while the votes were being tallied.  We weren't told what the method of voting was.

 

Edited to add:  However, the teller's report should be on the objection to consideration.  There has not yet been a vote on the original main motion which was objected to.

[Gary Novosielski]

I don't think it matters if the next meeting is an adjourned meeting or the next regular meeting, provided it is within a quarterly time interval.  The OP did not say that an adjourned meeting was set.

Well, it matters a little bit.  

 

If the next meeting is not an adjourned meeting, the announcement of the vote would take place under Unfinished Business.  

If it were an adjourned meeting, the announcement of the vote would take place as soon as the meeting is called to order.

 

The OP did not say an adjourned meeting was set, but it certainly would have been a good thing to do, and would have been allowed even in the absence of a quorum.

[Kim Goldsworthy]

 

Is the original motion (that survived the Objection to Consideration) now placed in Old Business at the next meeting?

See RONR page 236. Item #b.

 

b. When the adjournment closes the session in an assembly having its next regular business session within a quarterly time interval […]

If a question was pending at the time of adjournment, it is taken up as the first item under unfinished business

(or under special orders, if it was a special order)

― resuming the question at exactly where it was previously interrupted.

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