Guest J. Anthony Posted October 29, 2015 at 03:24 PM Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 at 03:24 PM I am on a Not for profit Board in my town and an emergency meeting was set to look at disciplinary actions against a board member. Our bylaws state that: Discipline of any board member will lie with the President of the Board. Decisions will be made by the President with input from those parties he/she feels necessary to address the situation. Expulsion or suspension from the board will require the vote of a 3/4 majority of the full board of directors. We have 12 members of the board, the vote was taken and 7 voted for removal, 4 voted to stay and the Person in question was not allowed to vote. The board thought it was a 2/3 majority, which 7 out of 12 is not 2/3. Once it was brought to their attention that 3/4 was needed, the acting president then called the vote null and void due to the misrepresentation of the voting requirements. So she then sent out an email to do an emergency email vote and did not include the person who is going to be suspended. Is this the right way to handle it? I assume the person in question is still a voting member of the board and should have a vote. The first vote should still be valid, correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hieu H. Huynh Posted October 29, 2015 at 04:26 PM Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 at 04:26 PM Do your bylaws authorize email voting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest J. Anthony Posted October 29, 2015 at 05:15 PM Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 at 05:15 PM Do your bylaws authorize email voting?Yes they do. 3.12 Email voting is to be permitted and acceptable only when an email message is sent to the entire voting population and is responded to by at least 80% with a Yes, No, Approve, Abstain or other definitive response. But does this mean the 3/4 vote is of the 80% or of the total board? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest J. Anthony Posted October 29, 2015 at 06:11 PM Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 at 06:11 PM 3.12 Email voting is to be permitted and acceptable only when an email message is sent to the entire voting population and is responded to by at least 80% with a Yes, No, Approve, Abstain or other definitive response.Since the discipline of this board member has yet to happen, they are still a board member and a voting board member, shouldn't the email be sent to them to vote as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hieu H. Huynh Posted October 29, 2015 at 06:42 PM Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 at 06:42 PM Since your organization has its own procedures for discipline and procedures for email voting, it is ultimately up to your organization to determine what those procedures mean. Interpretation of bylaws is beyond the scope of this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curiosulus Posted October 30, 2015 at 12:00 AM Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 at 12:00 AM We have 12 members of the board, the vote was taken and 7 voted for removal, 4 voted to stay and the Person in question was not allowed to vote. The board thought it was a 2/3 majority, which 7 out of 12 is not 2/3. Once it was brought to their attention that 3/4 was needed, the acting president then called the vote null and void due to the misrepresentation of the voting requirements. So she then sent out an email to do an emergency email vote and did not include the person who is going to be suspended. Is this the right way to handle it? I assume the person in question is still a voting member of the board and should have a vote. The first vote should still be valid, correct? I think the chair erred in nullifying the vote. I don't see how misstating the vote requirement interfered with anyone's understanding of the question being voted on nor did it affect the outcome. If you didn't have 2/3, then you also didn't have 3/4. However, it's too late for a point of order now. I can't tell you how your customized email voting rules should work, but note that the accused does not vote on his guilt in a formal trial situation (RONR[11th ed.], p.667, l.3-15). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 6, 2015 at 11:17 AM Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 at 11:17 AM Similar question, in the older version of RORM, it states that a member facing disciplinary charges is considered to be suspended from all privileges until after those charges are heard. Is that still the case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstackpo Posted November 6, 2015 at 12:27 PM Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 at 12:27 PM I can't speak to the pre-RONR/11 rules, but on p. 659 ff. it appears that suspending the accused rights is optional, and (see the two examples) can be a partial or complete suspension (excepting those related to a tral) . See also the footnote on p. 6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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