Discarding a vote

[Guest Community college teacher]

Recently, our department held a vote on an issue. The result was 27 (for) - 12 (against). The vote was done by Outlook email which retains privacy of the voters and enables everyone in the department to vote or abstain from voting. In the next meeting, the department chair announced she was discounting the vote and wants the department to wait a number of months for more data from the institutional research department, and then vote on the issue again. Can she do this, according to Roberts Rules of Order, which we are supposed to follow for all meetings and shared governance procedures? I cannot find anything here on the website that pertains to someone throwing out a legitimate vote.

[Dan Honemann]

Recently, our department held a vote on an issue. The result was 27 (for) - 12 (against). The vote was done by Outlook email which retains privacy of the voters and enables everyone in the department to vote or abstain from voting. In the next meeting, the department chair announced she was discounting the vote and wants the department to wait a number of months for more data from the institutional research department, and then vote on the issue again. Can she do this, according to Roberts Rules of Order, which we are supposed to follow for all meetings and shared governance procedures? I cannot find anything here on the website that pertains to someone throwing out a legitimate vote.

 

Nothing in RONR gives a chairman the right to throw out legitimate votes.

 

Edited to add : Of course, as far as RONR is concerned, a vote taken by email is not a legitimate vote, but I assume you have a rule authorizing the taking of such votes.

[Edgar Guest]

The vote was done by Outlook email which retains privacy of the voters . . . 

 

It does?

 

If you don't know who sent the e-mail, how do you know it was sent by a legitimate voter?

 

If you know who sent the e-mail, how is the "privacy of the voter" retained?