Can this Right be waived?

[Byron Baxter]

The bylaws provide for electronic meetings and state that an anonymous vote will be deemed a ballot vote. Special rules of order provide that the assembly may participate fully or partially by video conference or telephone connection.

Some members connecting by telephone do not have access to the anonymous voting feature of the video conference  and want to waive their right to a secret ballot vote and cast their vote by voice.

They claim the right to waive a secret ballot is established in the section of reconsideration of a ballot vote where the right is waived to establish their vote was on the prevailing side.

 

Is the right to waive the secrecy of a ballot vote for reconsideration applicable in this situation?

[Joshua Katz]

28 minutes ago, Byron Baxter said:

Is the right to waive the secrecy of a ballot vote for reconsideration applicable in this situation?

I don't think I'd quite put it that way. I think rights may be waived. The fact that it may be waived for the purposes of reconsideration is an example. But it can be waived at will. After all, nothing prevents a person from blurting out "I voted yes" after the fact.

29 minutes ago, Byron Baxter said:

The bylaws provide for electronic meetings and state that an anonymous vote will be deemed a ballot vote. Special rules of order provide that the assembly may participate fully or partially by video conference or telephone connection.

 

Yes, I can see how one could apply expressio unius to conclude that the bylaws prohibit non-anonymous votes from being treated as ballot votes. I don't tend to read it that way. But ultimately your organization must interpret its own bylaws.

30 minutes ago, Byron Baxter said:

Some members connecting by telephone do not have access to the anonymous voting feature of the video conference  and want to waive their right to a secret ballot vote and cast their vote by voice.

 

This doesn't seem quite like a voluntary waiver, though. They cannot vote any other way, so they have to choose between their right to vote and their right to secrecy. Is there a reason the vote in question must be taken by secret ballot? If not, the easier way would seem to be not voting by secret ballot.

Also, they aren't quite "waiving" their right to secrecy. They're voting a different way than was prescribed. If the votes must be by ballot, and nothing provides that a non-anonymous voice vote will be deemed to be a ballot vote, I think you have a problem. But it's a formalistic problem.

[Josh Martin]

2 hours ago, Byron Baxter said:

The bylaws provide for electronic meetings and state that an anonymous vote will be deemed a ballot vote. Special rules of order provide that the assembly may participate fully or partially by video conference or telephone connection.

Some members connecting by telephone do not have access to the anonymous voting feature of the video conference  and want to waive their right to a secret ballot vote and cast their vote by voice.

They claim the right to waive a secret ballot is established in the section of reconsideration of a ballot vote where the right is waived to establish their vote was on the prevailing side.

 

Is the right to waive the secrecy of a ballot vote for reconsideration applicable in this situation?

So I would first agree with the general principle that any member is free at any time to waive their right to secrecy in a ballot vote. I don't really think this has anything to do with the rules pertaining to making a motion to Reconsider a motion voted on by ballot. Rather, it simply has to do with the fact that a member's right to the secrecy of their vote is not the same as a rule forcing them to keep their vote secret. Nothing in RONR prevents a member from announcing how they intend to vote (or have voted) in a ballot vote.

I agree with Mr. Katz, however, that it is problematic that some members are not able to vote by ballot. The organization should adopt its own rules of order to handle these matters. It would seem to me that the rules should prohibit methods of voting in which not all members can vote in the same manner, but in the alternative, the organization should adopt rules at least providing for all members to be able to vote in some manner. It is absolutely inappropriate to deny some members their right to vote.

Edited February 5, 2021 at 02:19 PM by Josh Martin