Choosing to abstain

[ARYOUNG]

Can an elected official choose to abstain from voting solely because the elected official doesn't want to choose sides? No conflict of interest involved.

[Greg Goodwiller, PRP]

Absolutely. The right to vote is inherently also the right not to vote.

[Hieu H. Huynh]

In RONR, a member has the right to abstain. Your rules may say otherwise.

[ARYOUNG]

What if the only time the county commission chairman is supposed to vote is to break a tie, but chooses to abstain because he needs more "verbiage"?

[Hieu H. Huynh]

No rule in RONR prohibits it.

[jstackpo]

Depending on how much law is behind "supposed to", he could be censured, I suppose.

'Course, since a tie vote causes the defeat of a motion, his abstaining has an effect:  the motion is defeated.

[ARYOUNG]

How would other commissioners go about censuring the BOC Chair? Just a motion? If censured, what would be the outcome of such? Would the initial vote be re-voted upon?

[Hieu H. Huynh]

Generally a motion to censure is simply an expression of opinion (it would not cause the initial vote to be re-voted upon). There may be applicable law which would control in your situation. An attorney should be consulted in that case.

[Josh Martin]

11 hours ago, ARYOUNG said:

What if the only time the county commission chairman is supposed to vote is to break a tie, but chooses to abstain because he needs more "verbiage"?

So far as RONR is concerned, a member has a right to abstain, period. If your organization's rules or applicable law provide otherwise, those rules take precedence, but we can't interpret those rules for you.

11 hours ago, ARYOUNG said:

How would other commissioners go about censuring the BOC Chair? Just a motion? If censured, what would be the outcome of such? Would the initial vote be re-voted upon?

If the desire is to bring back the original motion, a member should either make the motion anew (if the original motion failed) or move to Rescind the original motion (if the original motion passed).

Unless your rules provide otherwise, censure is simply a main motion. The outcome is that the assembly has formally expressed its disapproval of the chair. There is no effect on the original motion.

[Kim Goldsworthy]

12 hours ago, ARYOUNG said:

Q1.) How would other commissioners go about censuring the BOC Chair? Just a motion?

Q2.) If censured, what would be the outcome of such?

Q3.) Would the initial vote be re-voted upon?

A1.) Wait a minute. For what reason would the "other commissioners" justify adopting a motion of censure? Would it be because the "county commission chairman" had abstained? i.e., exercised a right? That's not right. You cannot embarrass a member because a parliamentary right has been exercised. You would look like a fool. A chair is not obligated under parliamentary law to break ties. The chair is free to let ties remain in place.

A2.) An act of censure takes away no rights, and suspends no one, and suspends nothing. A motion of censure may be moved without a formal disciplinary action preceding it. A motion of commendation may be amended into a motion of censure, and vice-versa. It is an opinion, it is an expression. Nothing more.

A3.) No. Of course not. Why would "the initial vote be re-voted on"? How does one thing relate to the other?

[Gary Novosielski]

17 hours ago, ARYOUNG said:

What if the only time the county commission chairman is supposed to vote is to break a tie, but chooses to abstain because he needs more "verbiage"?

If the chair may vote only in the event of a tie (which is not the rule in RONR, by the way), yet chooses to abstain instead, that's fine.  

However, a tie vote simply defeats the motion then and there.  It does not hang around in limbo waiting for "verbiage" to emerge.  So the chair, either by voting No or by abstaining, has effectively decided to defeat the motion.

And no, you can't censure someone for exercising a basic right.  At least not if you expect to be taken seriously.

[ARYOUNG]

Thanks for the insight 

[Richard Brown]

If this is a public body of some sort, it might be subject to state or local laws regarding an obligation to vote except, perhaps, where a member must recuse himself due to a conflict.  Such provisions are not all that unusual.  Any such laws would take precedence over RONR.