Who can vote, based on quorum?

[Guest Erin]

I have a document which doesn't directly say which membership classes are permitted a vote, but does describe a quorum as "a majority of the active collegiate members residing within the chapter locality less those excused"

Does this definition of who counts towards a quorum limit who can vote in the absence of other clarifying information?

Thanks so much!

[Guest Who's Coming to Dinner]

There is only one class of member under RONR, and that class has the right to vote. The interpretation of your custom rules is up to your chapter.

[Hieu H. Huynh]

Only members of the body that is meeting have the right to vote unless your rules say otherwise.

[Joshua Katz]

I don't even know how to parse that definition of quorum, let alone what it might mean about voting rights. What is this document - is it your bylaws? What does it say about the types of membership?

[Richard Brown]

I'm at a loss, too, as to just what the quoted provision means and as to who can vote.  From what I see so far, it looks like a bylaws interpretation issue, something only the association can do. We really need more information, especially as to members.

 

[Guest Erin]

That part about quorum and this background info is from the national organization. The background information about the membership types:

There are two types of membership in the organization. Collegiate members are those who are enrolled as members of Collegiate Chapters and have been in a degree-granting program within the past 12 months. All Collegiate members are collectively to be known as the Collegiate Branch. Professional members are those who are not Collegiate members. Active Professional Members are those who pay annual voluntary Professional Contributions or have been designated a permanent active Professional Member. A member may not be simultaneously in the Collegiate Branch and the Professional Branch.

There are collegiate chapters at many different universities throughout the country. They create their own rules for governance as long as they don't conflict with the national constitution and bylaws. All of the descriptions in our national constitution and bylaws about who can vote in collegiate chapter meetings just say 'active members.' So the basic question I've been asked is if a professional member can be an active voting member of the chapter.  And I am wondering if this description on who counts towards a quorum impacts that. Can members that don't count towards quorum vote?

[jstackpo]

I may be a tad pedantic in this response but, hey, this is a college related association, right? 

Who can vote and a determination of a quorum are independent matters. 

Who can vote is set by your (and your national association's) bylaws. In general members can vote - that is a right of membership.

A quorum is simply a number:  the number of members who have to be present for a proper meeting.  In your case this seems to be more than half (a majority) of the "active collegiate" members of your chapter (less those "excused" - who does the "excusing"?).

You will have to ask your national association what it means by "active members"  RONR simply says that all members (whether "active" or comatose) can vote.  Any further distinctions or restrictions on voting rights are to be found in your bylaws. And you have to sort them out.  They are your distinctions, not RONR's.

[Richard Brown]

12 hours ago, Guest Erin said:

I have a document which doesn't directly say which membership classes are permitted a vote, but does describe a quorum as "a majority of the active collegiate members residing within the chapter locality less those excused" . . . 

 

In addition to the questions asked by Dr. Stackpole, I am wondering what exactly is "the chapter locality"?  How is it determined whether a member resides within the chapter locality?

Edited September 18, 2018 at 01:00 PM by Richard Brown
Typographical correction

[Richard Brown]

Guest Erin, is this a meeting of just the Collegiate members or a meeting of all members?

If it is a meeting of just the Collegiate members, then of course only Collegiate members can vote. However, if it is a meeting of all members, then I would say all members can vote, but the quorum is based on the number of Collegiate members who are present.

Edited September 18, 2018 at 01:07 PM by Richard Brown
Typographical corrections due to using voice to text on a cell phone

[Gary Novosielski]

Normally, quorum requirements are related to voting eligibility.  Quorum is normally specified as either a number or a fraction of those members who have the right to vote; i.e., people without a right to vote do not count towards a quorum.

However, like others, I'm having trouble seeing how the language in your bylaws relates to this concept, as the terminology is unclear to someone unfamiliar with the organization.

[Josh Martin]

12 hours ago, Richard Brown said:

If it is a meeting of just the Collegiate members, then of course only Collegiate members can vote. However, if it is a meeting of all members, then I would say all members can vote, but the quorum is based on the number of Collegiate members who are present.

Apparently, the bylaws state that only “active members,” whatever that means, are able to vote. So while it may well be that members may vote whether or not they are collegiate members, they must at least be “active” members.

17 hours ago, Guest Erin said:

All of the descriptions in our national constitution and bylaws about who can vote in collegiate chapter meetings just say 'active members.' 

 

9 hours ago, Gary Novosielski said:

Normally, quorum requirements are related to voting eligibility.  Quorum is normally specified as either a number or a fraction of those members who have the right to vote; i.e., people without a right to vote do not count towards a quorum.

It is, however, entirely possible to have members who are able to vote yet do not count toward the quorum. RONR provides, for instance, that if the President is an ex officio member of all committees, or if an ex officio member is not under the control of the society, those persons have the right to vote, but do not count toward the quorum. So the fact that certain members do not count toward the quorum, in and of itself, does not necessarily mean that those members may not vote.

Additionally, so far as RONR is concerned, all members have the right to vote.

Edited September 19, 2018 at 01:28 AM by Josh Martin