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Unanimous if some abstain?


pdarrow@jollyfarmer.com

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Yes, if a unanimous consent request was put to a vote, but that would certainly be a rarity.

 

If a consent request is made on a question that does not require unanimous consent, and there is objection, then the vote occurs on the pending question, not on the request itself.

 

 

If a consent request is made on a question that requires unanimous consent, and someone objects, there's no longer anything to vote on.  And objecting would certainly be quicker and easier than moving for a ballot or other vote and going through the motions.

 

If a member favored the question, there would be no motivation to call for a vote, since remaining silent is the usual way to agree.

 

So calling for a vote rather than simply objecting would seem, on its face, dilatory.

 

All of this is right assuming that the presiding officer does not put the question to a vote rather than ask if there is any objection. 

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No, it's not. Do you really have any doubt about it?

 

No, not any longer. But, I've learned, sometimes the hard way, to make sure to find out what RONR actually says rather than assume something that seems logical. I was surprised when I didn't see the same statement in RONR 11 that Gary quoted from ROR 1915, and thought maybe there was a specific reason it was no longer there.

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As best I can determine, the last time it appeared was in the 6th edition. I suspect the authors of the 7th edition felt no need to state the obvious, and none have since (including me).

 

If only 'twere so. But I think once a topic rates a HOT label, there's reasonable doubt that its subject should be considered obvious to all.    :rolleyes: 

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As best I can determine, the last time it appeared was in the 6th edition. I suspect the authors of the 7th edition felt no need to state the obvious, and none have since (including me).

 

If only 'twere so. But I think once a topic rates a HOT label, there's reasonable doubt that its subject should be considered obvious to all.    :rolleyes: 

I have to agree with Gary.  I have seen this business of club officers wanting to make a vote unanimous come up so often that I believe a clear, unambiguous statement on it is justified.  It is, after all, only one sentence.

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Yeah, and the title can be changed to Robert's Rules for Dummies (except I think that title has already been claimed).

 

Since I don't own a copy of that work, I wonder if there's any reference therein to making a motion unanimous.

Yes, but only on page 348 of the 2nd edition in the Glossary of Terms.  That statement pretty much tracks the 11th edition of RONR and reads as follows:

 

"Unanimous vote:  A vote in which all members present and voting  vote the same.  This  term is often misused:  it's never correct to declare a vote unanimous if the outcome of the ballot vote was not unanimous to begin with, unless the motion to make the ballot vote unanimous is itself voted on by ballot."

 

I have the 1st edition also, but it is on loan to a friend.

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