Do blank votes count?

[Rebeca Sanchez]

Our organization's bylaws provide that the bylaws "may be amended or rescinded by the affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the chapter in good standing and voting." In a recent vote to amend the bylaws, 127 ballots were cast; 3 of those ballots were blank. Ballot Box reported the 3 blanks as cast, but did not count them. Excluding the blanks, Ballot Box calculated that 66.9 of the eligible members who voted, voted in favor of passing the amendment. It has always been my understanding blanks are not counted as votes; and like abstentions would not be counted as votes unless qualified by the language of the bylaws, such as 2/3 of those present. That is not the language in our bylaws. Thus, in our case, based on the language in our bylaws which required the member to vote, not just cast a ballot, blanks would not be counted. The first question is are blanks counted? The second question is would the blanks be counted under our bylaws?  Thank you.

[George Mervosh]

Blanks are ignored and not counted in the tally regardless of the vote required to adopt a motion or to elect someone to office.   Also see FAQ#6  http://www.robertsrules.com/faq.html#6

[Guest Still_learning]

Our bylaws state "Votes representing more than fifty percent (50%) of the total votes of the association present and voting in person or by proxy at a duly convened meeting at which a quorum is present, are required to adopt decisions at any meeting of the association. 

The ballots have have check boxes FOR,  AGAINST,  ABSTAIN

If a ballot is marked abstain, does it count toward the total vote tally?

[Richard Brown]

Guest Still Learning, in the future, please post your question as a new topic, rather than attaching it to an existing thread that is about a slightly different point.

The answer to your particular question, though, is that no, abstentions and blank ballots do count at all either for or against a proposition or candidate and do not count toward the vote total (or tally).  They are ignored.  The following language from page 415 explains it:

"Recording the Votes. In recording the votes cast, the principle followed is that a choice has no mandate from the voting body unless approval is expressed by more than half of those entitled to vote and registering any evidence of having some preference. Accordingly, the tellers ignore blank ballots and other ballots that indicate no preference, treating them as abstentions. (Blank ballots are sometimes cast by members to conceal the fact that they do not wish to vote.)"