President

[Guest Lin]

We have a board of 7 members.  Bylaws state 2/3 vote to pass.  It seems 2/3 of 7 is 4.6.  I think 4.6 rounds up to 5.  So to pass it would need to be 5 or more.. Right.

Because our board is split with an old board, the votes come in 4 to 3... so how does this work for the final vote?  Pass,  Fail,  or no results because the 2/3 did not pass.  If no results.. how do we move forward?  Take it to the membership?

 

Thanks for your help

[Hieu H. Huynh]

See FAQ #5.

[Richard Brown]

Guest Lin, besides having to round up to a whole person, an easy way to tell if you have a two thirds vote is that there are at least twice as many yes votes as no votes.  5 to 2 meets that requirement.  So does a vote of 4 to 2.  4 to 3 does not.  Such a vote would fail.  There is no need to do the complicated math with fractions or decimals every time.  Just look to see if you have at least twice as many yes votes as no votes.

 

[Gary Novosielski]

1 hour ago, Guest Lin said:

We have a board of 7 members.  Bylaws state 2/3 vote to pass.  It seems 2/3 of 7 is 4.6.  I think 4.6 rounds up to 5.  So to pass it would need to be 5 or more.. Right.

Because our board is split with an old board, the votes come in 4 to 3... so how does this work for the final vote?  Pass,  Fail,  or no results because the 2/3 did not pass.  If no results.. how do we move forward?  Take it to the membership?

 

Thanks for your help

It would take 5 votes it pass if everyone voted.  But 4-2 would pass if only 6 vote, and 3-1 would pass if only 4 vote.

So 4-3 does not pass, as you have noted.  However, there is no such thing as "no result".  A 4-3 vote means that the motion fails, exactly the same as if everyone voted No.

You move forward by going on the the next item of business.

[g40]

On Friday, April 22, 2016 at 3:41 PM, Guest Lin said:

We have a board of 7 members.  Bylaws state 2/3 vote to pass.  It seems 2/3 of 7 is 4.6.  I think 4.6 rounds up to 5.  So to pass it would need to be 5 or more.. Right.Because our board is split with an old board, the votes come in 4 to 3... so how does this work for the final vote?  Pass,  Fail,  or no results because the 2/3 did not pass.  If no results.. how do we move forward?  Take it to the membership?Thanks for your help

"to pass" exactly what? All motions? if so, that would be much more stringent than both RONR or common practice, where most motions require a majority of those present and voting.

Or, is this "2/3 vote to pass" only for certain things, such as bylaw amendments.

What do you mean "split with an old board". There is just a "board" - not 'old' or 'new". Perhaps you mean that the newer board members are clashing with older board members (where 'older' means those on the board for a longer time)

[Guest]

Yes you are correct... Perhaps you mean that the newer board members are clashing with older board members

one example, The president appoints members to the committees.  Then the board ratifies.  The board wants to vote on who the committee members will be...? 

Thank you for the feedback and the assistance!

[Gary Novosielski]

The board has only the powers granted to it in the bylaws.  If it wants to vote on who the members should be, when the bylaws only grant it power to ratify (or not) the appointments of the president, well that's too bad.

[Kim Goldsworthy]

On 4/22/2016 at 0:41 PM, Guest Lin said:

Bylaws state 2/3 vote to pass.

My spider sense is tingling.

***

Q. Bylaws say what? -- two-thirds of -- what?

I am betting we have a case where the original poster mis-quoted the actual vote threshold rule.

***

• If we were talking about a Robertian criterion, then the rule would be clear.

• If we are referring to a customized rule, then there is a fair chance that the customize rule is demanding a super-majority of members, and not a super-majority of votes-cast.

***

(When an organization is not satisfied with a majority vote for Issue X when its executive board is making a decision on X, then the customized rule is usually extra-stringent. Thus my caution. An "ordinary" (Robertian) two-thirds vote is unlikely to be the case, where customization has been resorted to, for a specific purpose.)