Must the number of members be counted to establish quorum any time someone requests?

[Benjamin Geiger]

We're still meeting virtually via Zoom. Due to the details of how we meet, establishing the presence of a quorum is not as simple as "the number of connections to the meeting is greater than our target"; there are almost always guests present, some members are in the meeting twice (typically once via computer and once via phone, because of audio issues), and some connections count twice (usually two members, spouses, sharing a connection). So it takes a few minutes for the secretary to match Zoom accounts to our roll and determine whether a quorum has been met.

During our most recent meeting, one of the members stated that he was not sure whether a quorum was still present. But in this case, it was highly likely that a quorum was still present (there was). Is the chair obliged to count the membership present upon request, or in cases where it's reasonably certain that a quorum is present, can they decline to count and simply declare a quorum present? (Presumably the body could Appeal that, ironically enough.)

 

[Josh Martin]

On 8/21/2022 at 7:46 PM, Benjamin Geiger said:

We're still meeting virtually via Zoom. Due to the details of how we meet, establishing the presence of a quorum is not as simple as "the number of connections to the meeting is greater than our target"; there are almost always guests present, some members are in the meeting twice (typically once via computer and once via phone, because of audio issues), and some connections count twice (usually two members, spouses, sharing a connection). So it takes a few minutes for the secretary to match Zoom accounts to our roll and determine whether a quorum has been met.

During our most recent meeting, one of the members stated that he was not sure whether a quorum was still present. But in this case, it was highly likely that a quorum was still present (there was). Is the chair obliged to count the membership present upon request, or in cases where it's reasonably certain that a quorum is present, can they decline to count and simply declare a quorum present? (Presumably the body could Appeal that, ironically enough.)

The chair is not obliged to count the membership present upon request unless the organization's rules so provide (which sometimes is the case for electronic meetings). If RONR is all that is applicable, if the chair is "reasonably certain that a quorum is present" the chair can indeed "decline to count and simply declare a quorum present."

In the facts presented, I do not think the assembly could appeal this declaration. The member's question seems to have been more in the nature of a Parliamentary Inquiry than a Point of Order, and the chair's response to such an inquiry cannot be appealed from. If a member continues to believe that a quorum is not present, the member could raise a Point of Order, followed by an Appeal if necessary.

At that point, unless the chair is extremely certain that a quorum is present (in which event it might be appropriate to rule the Appeal out of order as dilatory), it would likely be prudent to take a count to resolve the matter.

Edited August 22, 2022 at 02:35 PM by Josh Martin