Guest Cindy Posted August 15, 2019 at 02:22 AM Report Share Posted August 15, 2019 at 02:22 AM Hello - do you need a quorum just to call the mtg to order or for every vote? We have 10 people who vote on the board. Our bylaws define quorum as a simple majority of the voting members of the BOD (so 6). We have 6 as the mtg is called to order, but during the mtg, 1 person leaves. Can votes still be cast on items with only 5 present? Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted August 15, 2019 at 02:30 AM Report Share Posted August 15, 2019 at 02:30 AM 1 minute ago, Guest Cindy said: We have 6 as the mtg is called to order, but during the mtg, 1 person leaves. Can votes still be cast on items with only 5 present? Thank you No. Unless you have a superior rule or state law to the contrary, once you lose a quorum you cannot conduct any substitutive business. These the only four things you can legitimately do in the absence of a quorum: 1. Adjourn 2. Recess, to wait for additional members to arrive or to contact absent members. 3. Take action to obtain a quorum, such as calling absent members. 4. Set an adjourned meeting, such as adopting a motion to meet again tomorrow night at the same time and place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atul Kapur Posted August 15, 2019 at 03:35 AM Report Share Posted August 15, 2019 at 03:35 AM (edited) 1 hour ago, Richard Brown said: No. Unless you have a superior rule or state law to the contrary, once you lose a quorum you cannot conduct any substitutive business. And you can't conduct any substantive business, either. 😉 Edited August 15, 2019 at 03:36 AM by Atul Kapur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cindy Posted August 15, 2019 at 04:07 AM Report Share Posted August 15, 2019 at 04:07 AM Thank you both for the quick response. It is greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted August 15, 2019 at 01:09 PM Report Share Posted August 15, 2019 at 01:09 PM 8 hours ago, Guest Cindy said: Thank you both for the quick response. It is greatly appreciated. Cindy, check back again after a while. I would like to add a comment about what you do when there is no quorum at the beginning of a meeting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted August 15, 2019 at 10:36 PM Report Share Posted August 15, 2019 at 10:36 PM 20 hours ago, Guest Cindy said: Hello - do you need a quorum just to call the mtg to order or for every vote? We have 10 people who vote on the board. Our bylaws define quorum as a simple majority of the voting members of the BOD (so 6). We have 6 as the mtg is called to order, but during the mtg, 1 person leaves. Can votes still be cast on items with only 5 present? Thank you Normally you wait for a quorum before starting the meeting, but if it's obvious you're not going to get a quorum, and your rules require, say, monthly meetings, you can obey the rule by calling the meeting to order with less than a quorum, but you can then only do the things noted in Richard Brown's post above, such as adjourn. And if a quorum is lost during a meeting, you would not need to stop a person who was debating an already pending motion, but it is the chair's (and for that matter, all members') duty to be certain not to hold a vote or introduce any new business (except as noted above) when a quorum is not present. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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