Mkrenesky Posted May 20, 2016 at 08:29 PM Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 at 08:29 PM Is it valid for a municipal commission to vote in public session by paper ballot? situation. Land use planning and zoning commission has a vote on a request for a zone change from R1 to R3. Instead of a hand vote which is the normal method, they decide to vote by paper ballot. The issue is very political and contentious. The commission had a very heated discussion. They had never done a paper ballot for any decision in recent history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted May 20, 2016 at 08:34 PM Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 at 08:34 PM Per RONR you may adopt a motion to vote by ballot. However, since this is a public body, it is almost certainly governed by your state's open meetings (or sunshine) laws. Those laws frequently prohibit any form of secret voting and require that all votes be public and on the record. You need to check out those provisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Goldsworthy Posted May 20, 2016 at 09:25 PM Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 at 09:25 PM >> Is it valid for a municipal commission to vote in public session by paper ballot? If you are asking if Robert's Rules of Order allows for a body to choose to vote by secret ballot, then the answer is "Yes." See "Motions relating to the polls" in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised. *** If you are asking a legal question of state law or county/city-level rules, then the answer is likely "No". -- Because most governmental bodies are subject to some kind of "sunshine law", which prohibits secret balloting as a method of making decisions for governmental bodies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.