Member's rights at Annual Meeting

[Guest Kat Parr]

I believe that the current Board of my POA misunderstands something rather fundamental: They are claiming at only Board members have the right to make and second motions at the meetings of our organization. I believe they are correct as far as Board meetings go, but incorrect as far as the Annual Meeting of the membership.

It is my impression that the Annual Meeting is the ONLY time when a regular member of the association has the right to speak, to make and second motions, and to vote on the same. Please let me know if I am correct (or not) about this. I tried to look it up in the Rules because I wanted to be able to cite chapter and verse, but I have been unable to find any clarification of this issue.

[Gary Novosielski]

If the rules in RONR apply, you have that exactly right.  Voting is one of the fundamental rights of membership, and the members of a particular body have the right to vote in meetings of that body, be it the board or the general membership.

[Richard Brown]

Agreeing with Mr. Novosielski, members of the organization have the right to vote and make motions at ALL General membership meetings, not just at your annual meeting, unless that is the only general membership meeting you have (and unless your own bylaws provide to the contrary).

[Guest Kat Parr]

Thank you so much for your responses. Robert's Rules of Order (without specification of which revision) are named in the organization's Bylaws as ruling the organization, and yes, we have only one annual meeting of the membership.

Do you have a recommendation as to what section/paragraph I could cite if challenged on this point in the meeting where I plan to bring up the issue on a point of order if I have to?

[George Mervosh]

On 6/29/2022 at 2:37 PM, Guest Kat Parr said:

Thank you so much for your responses. Robert's Rules of Order (without specification of which revision) are named in the organization's Bylaws as ruling the organization, and yes, we have only one annual meeting of the membership.

Do you have a recommendation as to what section/paragraph I could cite if challenged on this point in the meeting where I plan to bring up the issue on a point of order if I have to?

"A member of an assembly, in the parliamentary sense, as mentioned above, is a person entitled to full participation in its proceedings, that is, as explained in 3 and 4, the right to attend meetings, to make motions, to speak in debate, and to vote. No member can be individually deprived of these basic rights of membership—or of any basic rights concomitant to them, such as the right to make nominations or to give previous notice of a motion—except through disciplinary proceedings. Some organized societies define additional classes of “membership” that do not entail all of these rights. Whenever the term member is used in this book, it refers to full participating membership in the assembly unless otherwise specified. Such members are also described as “voting members” when it is necessary to make a distinction."  RONR (12th ed.), 1:4

[Guest Perfect!!!]

Thank you, sir!