Vote ending in a tie

[Guest Joe S.]

Our school board ended a vote in a tie with on abstained vote. Therefor it was ruled in fa of failure. Doesn’t it need to go deliberated until a consensus is reached?

[Richard Brown]

No. If this was an ordinary motion, not an election, and if you don’t have any customized rules to the contrary, a motion fails on a tie vote.  The abstention is ignored.

[Atul Kapur]

It's a common myth that a tie vote on a motion is inconclusive. A motion requires a majority vote in support (more than half) to be adopted. A tie is not more than half so the motion is defeated.