Non-voting Member Making a Motion

[Guest Hannah]

Can an alternate member on a board make a motion when they are not voting on the motion? Citation would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Shmuel Gerber]

On 7/28/2022 at 9:33 AM, Guest Hannah said:

Can an alternate member on a board make a motion when they are not voting on the motion? Citation would be appreciated. Thanks!

If the alternate member is serving as an actual member at the time of making the motion, then the alternate member can make the motion. It doesn't matter whether the alternate will be there at the time the motion is voted on. 

Perhaps we could give you a better answer if you explained why the alternate member is not voting on the motion.

[Guest Hannah]

This question is for a situation in which all regular members are present, so an alternate member is not needed to vote, but the alternate is still in attendance at the meeting.

[Shmuel Gerber]

On 7/28/2022 at 12:59 PM, Guest Hannah said:

This question is for a situation in which all regular members are present, so an alternate member is not needed to vote, but the alternate is still in attendance at the meeting.

If the alternate is not serving as a member, then he or she would have no rights of membership. However, the entire validity of alternates depends on having provisions for them in the bylaws. If the bylaws say nothing about alternates, then there cannot be any alternates to begin with. So, if the bylaws do provide for alternates, then they may also provide for additional rights. For example, it is typical to give alternates the right to be present at all meetings, even when they will not be taking the place of a regular member.