Can the Chairperson ask anyone at any time to assume the duties of the chair, even in the middle of the meeting.

[Guest Lesley Nordhausen]

Church Voters Assembly. The Chair was going to be absent and asked past chair to oversee the meeting. Right at the beginning they decided the Vice Chair would make an announcment that he wasn't informed enough to run the meeting and that this person would be running it. They are the past Chairperson. This Past Chairperson was never elected by the voters assembly just started in on the agenda. Is that valid?

[Richard Brown]

11 minutes ago, Guest Lesley Nordhausen said:

This Past Chairperson was never elected by the voters assembly just started in on the agenda. Is that valid?

 It was not handled properly, but it’s too late to do anything about it now. It would have required a timely Point of Order at the time of the breach. Per the rules in  RONR, if the regular presiding officer cannot preside, the vice chairman, if there is one, it should preside. If there is no vice chair, or if he is also absent, then the assembly should elect a chairman pro tem. 

This is often someone suggested or nominated by the chairman or someone else in authority and is often approved by the assembly by general consent without objection, but ultimately the assembly has the final word on who will be chairman pro tem.  The regular chairman does not have the right to dictate who will preside in his absence unless your own rules provide for it.

Edited February 2, 2021 at 03:32 AM by Richard Brown
Added last sentence

[Richard Brown]

I should have added in my comment above that if the regular chairman and the vice chair, if there is one, are both absent, the secretary should call the meeting to order and then the first order of business should be the selection/election of a chairman pro tem to serve as chair for the remainder of the meeting or until the regular chairman or vice chairman appears.

[Guest Thank you!]

That is what I reading also and just wanted to make sure had eyes on it.