Guest Jenna Posted May 19, 2015 at 01:51 AM Report Share Posted May 19, 2015 at 01:51 AM Our bylaws review committee is having trouble determining quorum f I r our group. We are a due paying group that has 177 members, however only about 25-35 members attend our monthly meetings. Our current quorum is set at 25% and our review committee realizes that we have been doing/holding business meetings without having quorum present. We are trying set quorum so we can conduct business, but don't want to have a quorum so low that only 10-15 members have to be present, especially to have elections and voting on bylaws, etc. Two members thought that quorum was the number of people present at the meeting, but want 25% present for elections and bylaw reviews and amendments. We have also been using absentee ballots to count as part of the 25% to reach quorum for elections. Two members of our review committee feel this is incorrect. One member wants to set a quorum for regular business and a different for "special meetings" (which would be bylaw votes and elections). How that all makes sense. We need help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted May 19, 2015 at 02:05 AM Report Share Posted May 19, 2015 at 02:05 AM Duplicate post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jenna Posted May 19, 2015 at 02:14 AM Report Share Posted May 19, 2015 at 02:14 AM Did I post it twice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted May 19, 2015 at 02:19 AM Report Share Posted May 19, 2015 at 02:19 AM Did I post it twice?Yes, but apparently the other one, which was actually the first post, got deleted instead of this one. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hieu H. Huynh Posted May 19, 2015 at 03:04 AM Report Share Posted May 19, 2015 at 03:04 AM Our bylaws review committee is having trouble determining quorum f I r our group. We are a due paying group that has 177 members, however only about 25-35 members attend our monthly meetings. Our current quorum is set at 25% and our review committee realizes that we have been doing/holding business meetings without having quorum present. We are trying set quorum so we can conduct business, but don't want to have a quorum so low that only 10-15 members have to be present, especially to have elections and voting on bylaws, etc. Two members thought that quorum was the number of people present at the meeting, but want 25% present for elections and bylaw reviews and amendments. We have also been using absentee ballots to count as part of the 25% to reach quorum for elections. Two members of our review committee feel this is incorrect. One member wants to set a quorum for regular business and a different for "special meetings" (which would be bylaw votes and elections). How that all makes sense. We need help! How about a quorum based on 25 members? Also, absentee ballots could be used only if authorized in the bylaws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted May 19, 2015 at 03:08 AM Report Share Posted May 19, 2015 at 03:08 AM Two members thought that quorum was the number of people present at the meeting, but want 25% present for elections and bylaw reviews and amendments. We have also been using absentee ballots to count as part of the 25% to reach quorum for elections. Two members of our review committee feel this is incorrect. One member wants to set a quorum for regular business and a different for "special meetings" (which would be bylaw votes and elections). How that all makes sense. We need help! Are you saying that two members think your current quorum requirement is the members present? Or that they want to change it to "the members present"? It is permissible to have a quorum requirement that is "the members present". Many churches have such a requirement. I'm sure you understand the dangers of such a provision. It is also permissible to have one quorum requirement for ordinary business meetings and a different one for elections and bylaw amendments, although such a provision would be unusual. It is also permissible, but somewhat unusual, to have a different quorum requirement for special meetings. As to absentee ballots, do your bylaws permit them? They are not permitted by RONR unless authorized in the bylaws. But, when you start mixing absentee ballots with ballots of members present, you run into problems. Whether to consider absentee ballots as "members present" is something your organization will have to decide for itself, as RONR provides that only members physically present are considered as present at a meeting. Proxies present the same situation: whether to consider a member who has submitted a proxy as being "present"... provided your bylaws authorize proxies. RONR frowns upon the use of proxies and says that rules for their use must be promulgated by the organization itself. It has been my experience, though, that most bylaws that allow proxy voting state that members who have submitted proxies shall be considered "present by proxy". That is up to your organization to decide for itself. You might want to reconsider this business of having a bunch of different quorum requirements and decide on one reasonable number or percentage. Beware, though, that when using percentages, it is necessary to have very accurate and up to date membership records. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted May 19, 2015 at 03:53 AM Report Share Posted May 19, 2015 at 03:53 AM Our bylaws review committee is having trouble determining quorum f I r our group. We are a due paying group that has 177 members, however only about 25-35 members attend our monthly meetings. Our current quorum is set at 25% and our review committee realizes that we have been doing/holding business meetings without having quorum present. We are trying set quorum so we can conduct business, but don't want to have a quorum so low that only 10-15 members have to be present, especially to have elections and voting on bylaws, etc. Two members thought that quorum was the number of people present at the meeting, but want 25% present for elections and bylaw reviews and amendments. We have also been using absentee ballots to count as part of the 25% to reach quorum for elections. Two members of our review committee feel this is incorrect. One member wants to set a quorum for regular business and a different for "special meetings" (which would be bylaw votes and elections). How that all makes sense. We need help! RONR recommends that the quorum "should be as large a number of members as can reasonably be depended on to be present at any meeting, except in very bad weather or other exceptionally unfavorable conditions." (RONR, 11th ed., pg. 346) Based upon the facts you have provided, 25 (or about 15%, if you prefer a percentage) would seem to be a reasonable number, since that's at the low end of your regular attendance. Absentee ballots are not counted as part of the quorum unless your bylaws so provide. For that matter, you cannot have absentee ballots unless your bylaws so provide, and RONR strongly advises against combining absentee ballots with votes cast at a meeting. RONR does not discuss the possibility of having two different quorums for different types of business, but nothing prevents your society from adopting such a rule in its bylaws if it wishes. Lastly, I hope it is understood that in order to change the quorum, you'll need to meet your current quorum first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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