Voting by email

[Guest Lori]

Can a committee vote by email?  If a topic has been fully briefed and the literature explaining the issue has been delivered to the board members, can a committee vote on that issue by email if the head of the committee places all members on notice that they are required to vote within a designated time period? Also, if a quorum is needed for the vote to carry, how do I ensure a quorum has voted?

[Josh Martin]

3 hours ago, Guest Lori said:

Can a committee vote by email? If a topic has been fully briefed and the literature explaining the issue has been delivered to the board members, can a committee vote on that issue by email if the head of the committee places all members on notice that they are required to vote within a designated time period?

No, unless such methods of voting are authorized in the bylaws.

"It is a fundamental principle of parliamentary law that the right to vote is limited to the members of an organization who are actually present at the time the vote is taken in a regular or properly called meeting, although it should be noted that a member need not be present when the question is put. Exceptions to this rule must be expressly stated in the bylaws. Such possible exceptions include: (a) voting by postal mail, e-mail, or fax, and (b) proxy voting." (RONR, 11th ed., pg. 423)

In the case of a committee, however, there is one other option. If it is impractical to meet, the committee's report may contain what all members of the committee agree to. Such agreement could be reached by any method convenient for the committee's members, including email.

"In the case of a committee, however, if it is impractical to bring its members together for a meeting, the report of the committee can contain what has been agreed to by every one of its members." (RONR, 11th ed., pg. 503)

3 hours ago, Guest Lori said:

Also, if a quorum is needed for the vote to carry, how do I ensure a quorum has voted?

The term "quorum" refers to the number of members who must be present to conduct business, and as a result, this term has no meaningful application for a vote taken by email, since there is no "meeting" at which members can be present or absent. Some organizations which authorize email voting require a certain number or proportion of members to reply to an email vote in order for the vote to be valid. This has a similar effect to a quorum requirement but is not quite the same thing.

If the organization's rules do not permit voting by email, then the only manner in which the committee can make a decision by email is if all members of the committee agree.

Edited July 16, 2020 at 01:17 AM by Josh Martin