Scott Linebaugh Posted March 20, 2019 at 06:48 PM Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 at 06:48 PM If your by-laws say 2/3 vote requirement and you have 11 members this comes to odd number of 7.3333. Is the requirement rounded to 8? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Geiger Posted March 20, 2019 at 06:50 PM Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 at 06:50 PM (edited) You need a minimum of 2/3 of the votes cast (not the number of members unless your bylaws say otherwise). 7 is less than 2/3 of 11, so yes, you need at least eight votes in this case. EDIT: See also FAQ #5. Edited March 20, 2019 at 06:54 PM by Benjamin Geiger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Goodwiller, PRP Posted March 20, 2019 at 07:32 PM Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 at 07:32 PM I would also note that if the bylaws simply state that a matter requires a vote of two-thirds, how many members you have is not important, so long as a quorum is present at the meeting. If only three members at a meeting at which a quorum is present vote, and two of them vote in favor (and one against), then that is also a valid two-thirds vote and the matter is adopted. The Robert's Rules standard is a vote of those "present and voting." But if your bylaws "a two-thirds vote of the total membership," that is another matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted March 20, 2019 at 09:10 PM Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 at 09:10 PM (edited) 2 hours ago, Scott Linebaugh said: If your by-laws say 2/3 vote requirement and you have 11 members this comes to odd number of 7.3333. Is the requirement rounded to 8? No, a 2/3 vote does not mean 2/3 of the number of members. It means 2/3 of those present and voting. But if everyone shows up and nobody abstains, the requirement would be 7.333... people. No need to round off. If you have greater than or equal to 7.333... people voting in the affirmative, the motion passes. If not, it fails. So if 7 people vote yes, it fails, and if 8 vote yes it passes. That doesn't mean the requirement changes. It just means that fractional people are few and far between. The shortcut way of figuring a 2/3 vote is this: If the number of Yes votes are twice as much as the number of No votes (or better), the motion passes. Edited March 20, 2019 at 09:12 PM by Gary Novosielski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted March 20, 2019 at 11:11 PM Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 at 11:11 PM (edited) 2 hours ago, Gary Novosielski said: The shortcut way of figuring a 2/3 vote is this: If the number of Yes votes are twice as much as the number of No votes (or better), the motion passes. And that, Mr. Linebaugh, is how to determine if you have a two thirds vote. No need for complicated math or fractions or decimals. Twice as many "yes" votes as "no" votes means you got at least a two thirds vote. Edited to add: There is a caveat, however: If your bylaws require the vote of two thirds of the members present or the vote of two thirds of the total membership, then you might have to do some math to determine how many "yes" votes you need. Edited March 20, 2019 at 11:15 PM by Richard Brown Added last paragraph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Linebaugh Posted March 25, 2019 at 01:31 AM Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2019 at 01:31 AM Thank you everyone for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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