Majority of the Entire Membership

[Tomm]

RONR 44:9 b states the majority of the entire membership at a convention pertains to the voting delegates that show up. 

1. Does the majority of the entire membership include those credentialed delegates who didn't show-up or attend the convention.

2. If a convention doesn't have/use delegates and it's one-man-one vote, is the majority of the entire membership bases only on those members who show up or does it now include each and every member of the organization? 

[Josh Martin]

1 hour ago, Tomm said:

1. Does the majority of the entire membership include those credentialed delegates who didn't show-up or attend the convention.

If they didn't show up to the convention at all, they won't be credentialed, and therefore will not be included in this number.

If they showed up to the convention and registered with the credentials committee, but failed to attend any business meetings, they would be included in this number.

"In a convention of delegates a majority of the entire membership means a majority of the total number of convention members entitled to vote as set forth in the official roll of voting members of the convention (1:16, 59:25–26)." RONR (12th ed.) 44:9

The procedures for registration of delegates and the adoption of the credentials committee report, which establishes the official roll of membership of the convention, are discussed in RONR (12th ed.) 59:14-26.

1 hour ago, Tomm said:

2. If a convention doesn't have/use delegates and it's one-man-one vote, is the majority of the entire membership bases only on those members who show up or does it now include each and every member of the organization? 

If the meetings of a society's membership don't have/use delegates, this is not a "convention" in the sense RONR uses the term. As a result, the "entire membership" refers to the membership of the organization.

"As commonly understood in parliamentary law and as used in this book, the word convention refers to an assembly of delegates (other than a permanently constituted public lawmaking body), who are usually chosen specially for each session as representatives of the constituent units or subdivisions within a larger group of people, to sit as a single deliberative body acting in the name of the entire group." RONR (12th ed.) 58:1

The rule in question also specifically says "a convention of delegates," so it seems clear the rule is inapplicable if there are no delegates.

Edited February 11, 2021 at 07:12 PM by Josh Martin