Qualifying a Quorum

[Guest RoxAnne]

Could someone please tell me where to find the Robert's Rule ruling on the percentage that qualifies a quorum?  I can not find anything on this website that tells me what the number is . . . because the term "majority" is too vague.

[Joshua Katz]

1 minute ago, Guest RoxAnne said:

because the term "majority" is too vague.

In what way? A majority is more than half.

[Hieu H. Huynh]

See FAQ #4.

[Dan Honemann]

Oh my, H.H.H.,  please don't refer to anything at all dealing with voting in connection with a question concerning determination of the presence of a quorum. Speaker Reed put this issue to rest way back in 1890, and we certainly don't want it cropping up again.  🙂 

[Hieu H. Huynh]

Well, at least there shouldn't be any confusion on what a majority means.

[Richard Brown]

Guest Roxanne, what do you find vague about the term "majority"?  The definition is about a simple as a definition can be. It means, simply, more than half. Less than half is not a majority and exactly half is not a majority. But any figure or amount more than half is a majority. What do you find vague or confusing or hard to understand about that?

[Guest Zev]

Be aware that the definition of the term "majority" in parliamentary parlance and the dictionary definition are not exactly the same thing.

[Guest RoxAnne]

3 hours ago, Daniel H. Honemann said:

Oh my, H.H.H.,  please don't refer to anything at all dealing with voting in connection with a question concerning determination of the presence of a quorum. Speaker Reed put this issue to rest way back in 1890, and we certainly don't want it cropping up again.  🙂 

I don't understand why everyone is so mean.  I just wanted clarification as to WHERE to find the answer in Robert's Rules.  

[Guest Zev]

1 hour ago, Guest RoxAnne said:

I don't understand why everyone is so mean.

Guest RoxAnne: They are nor trying to be mean. It has nothing to do with you. Its just the way they talk to each other on occasion.

1 hour ago, Guest RoxAnne said:

I just wanted clarification as to WHERE to find the answer in Robert's Rules.

Here. This is the way this book defines what a majority is.

Quote

The basic principle of decision in a deliberative assembly is that, to become the act or choice of the body, a proposition must be adopted by a majority vote; that is, direct approval -- implying assumption of responsibility for the act -- must be registered by more than half of the members present and voting on the particular matter, in a regular or properly called meeting of the body (see also pp. 400-401).

RONR, 11th edition, page 4.

[Richard Brown]

1 hour ago, Guest RoxAnne said:

I don't understand why everyone is so mean.  I just wanted clarification as to WHERE to find the answer in Robert's Rules.  

I don't understand why you think anyone is being mean.  The page citation (page 400) for the definition of a majority is mentioned in the answer to FAQ # 4, the link to which Mr. Huynh provided in the second response to your question.  Perhaps our answers seem cryptic because the definition is so simple and short, consisting of only three words:  "More than half".    Did you look up the citation at the bottom of the answer to FAQ 4?  It's explained on page 400 with a mention also on page 4.

btw, some of the things we say to each other (keep in mind many of  us are personal friends) are often private jokes or making reference to a thread in the past that got confusing.

[Drake Savory]

12 hours ago, Guest RoxAnne said:

I don't understand why everyone is so mean.  I just wanted clarification as to WHERE to find the answer in Robert's Rules.  

Actually Dan's response to HHH is quite appropriate.  Refer to U.S. v Ballin but long story short, The House of Representatives used to count those abstaining from a vote as not counting toward the quorum of those attending.*  Speaker Reed said that that was not correct - if you are there you count towards the quorum even if you don't vote.  This means that the definition of a majority for voting (more than half the votes and abstentions do not count) and for a quorum (more than half of the members) while technically the same (more than half) are in practice different.  If you want to see an example of this, watch a meeting where the Chair will erroneously say that a vote of 4 yes, 3 no and 2 abstain did not pass since a majority of those voting did not say yes.

 

 

*  So if there were a House of 200 members with 101 attending, 2 Representatives could obstruct a bill simply by not voting.  The resulting vote 99-0-2 would not be valid since "a quorum was not present".

 

 

 

[Gary Novosielski]

We seem to have lost sight of the fact that the question was not about voting but about a quorum,

To answer the original question, if your bylaws are silent on the quorum requirement, it is a majority of the full membership of the body that is meeting.

If more than half the members are in the room, a quorum is present.

But also check your bylaws, since any rules on quorum there would supersede the rule in RONR.  Sometimes the rule will specify a fixed number of members required, or (better) a certain fraction of the membership that is needed.