Guest Judy Russell Posted March 5, 2015 at 04:54 PM Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 at 04:54 PM After voting on a motion, a voting member now declares that she did not in fact vote "for" the motion. It was an oral vote. She did not say "nay" after the question "opposed, same sign", nor did she declare "I abstain". We assumed that her "aye" was captured in the group response. If she in fact, simply remained silent, is her vote considered to be "aye"? We have no way of knowing if she indeed was silent. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted March 5, 2015 at 05:00 PM Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 at 05:00 PM You do not assume that silence is either a yes or a no vote. A member has the right to abstain and can abstain by either saying "I abstain" or by simply remaining silent when the yeas and nays are called for. If she questioned the outcome of the vote, she could have and should have immediately called for a "division" of the house... a standing vote.... or moved for a counted vote. A timely point of order or demand for a division or a motion for a counted vote must be made. It is too late now. Edited to add: See pages 51-54 in RONR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Honemann Posted March 5, 2015 at 05:02 PM Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 at 05:02 PM And since the way in which members vote on a vote of this kind is not recorded in the minutes, none of this matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgar Guest Posted March 5, 2015 at 05:59 PM Report Share Posted March 5, 2015 at 05:59 PM It was an oral vote. She did not say "nay" after the question "opposed, same sign" . . . It makes no sense to say, "opposed, same sign" when a vote is taken by "yeas" and "nays" since those are obviously not the same sign. It makes some sense (but should probably be avoided anyway) if the vote is taken by a show of hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted March 9, 2015 at 07:12 PM Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 at 07:12 PM It makes no sense to say, "opposed, same sign" when a vote is taken by "yeas" and "nays" since those are obviously not the same sign. That, and because a vote "by the yeas and nays" actually means a roll-call vote, if memory serves. Nevertheless, I am tempted to echo the words of a former Secretary of State, and ask of the OP: At this point, what difference does it make? Voice votes don't get recorded in the minutes, except to note whether the motion passed or not. So, under what set of circumstances do you imagine it would matter if one member can or can't recall their response to a particular vote? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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