Voting

[Guest Lori]

What does 2/3 vote of members present mean?

[Tom Coronite]

RONR uses the term "two-thirds vote" with no qualifications to mean at least 2/3 votes cast by persons entitled to vote (excluding blanks or abstentions)  at a regular or properly called meeting.

 

But if your bylaws add the qualifier "of members present" you'll have to decipher what it means.  Could be as described above.  Could be 2/3 of however many persons/members are present.  This is why it's best to use RONR language.  Adding to it introduces confusion.

[Edgar Guest]

In RONR-Land, a two-thirds vote means that there were at least twice as many "yes" votes as "no" votes.

 

Edited to add: Mr. Church points out the potential problem with embellishment.

[Richard Brown]

 What does 2/3 vote of members present mean?

The term "2/3 vote of members present" is non-standard language and I'm afraid you and your organization will have to figure out what it means.  It could mean what RONR calls "a two thirds vote" or it could mean  "a vote of two thirds of the members present".  The two  are entirely different.

 

This is how RONR defines a "two thirds vote" on page 401:  "A two-thirds vote—when the term is unqualified—means at least two thirds of the votes cast by persons entitled to vote, excluding  blanks or abstentions, at a regular or properly called meeting."

 

But, the term you used could mean"a vote of two thirds of the members present".  If that's the case, the vote of at least two thirds of those members present at a meeting is required. 

 

Here is what RONR says on page 403 about vote requirements based on the members present:  "Voting requirements based on the number of members present—a majority of those present, two thirds of those present, etc.—while possible, are generally undesirable. Since an abstention in such cases has the same effect as a negative vote, these bases deny members the right to maintain a neutral position by abstaining. For the same reason, members present who fail to vote through indifference rather than through deliberate neutrality may affect the result negatively. When such a vote is required, however, the chair must count those present immediately after the affirmative vote is taken, before any change can take place in attendance."

 

As you can see, a very slight change in the wording can make a significant difference.  Since the language you quoted is non-standard, we can't tell you what it means.