general discussion

[Guest Gary]

If a motion is made at a Board meeting with four of the five directors present (President absent), and a 2-2 vote results:

1.  Does the motion fail for lack a majority?

2.  If the motion fails can it be re-introduced at the next regular meeting if placed on the agenda?  If yes, how can the previous failed motion be handled?

2.  Is the President allowed to have another Board member hand deliver a list of his proposed votes on paper before the motions have been made?

 

[Richard Brown]

On 8/27/2022 at 4:07 PM, Guest Gary said:

If a motion is made at a Board meeting with four of the five directors present (President absent), and a 2-2 vote results:

1.  Does the motion fail for lack a majority?

Unless your bylaws specify otherwise, the vote fails because a tie vote is not a majority.

On 8/27/2022 at 4:07 PM, Guest Gary said:

2.  If the motion fails can it be re-introduced at the next regular meeting if placed on the agenda?  If yes, how can the previous failed motion be handled?

Yes. If the motion fails, it may be renewed, i.e., made again, at a future meeting including the next meeting, in fact, it may be made at meeting after meeting.

it is handled just as any other motion which is being introduced for the first time would be handled. The minutes of the previous meeting should note simply that the motion failed. There is nothing to “handle“ about the fact that the motion failed at  the previous meeting other than for the minutes of that meeting to note that the motion failed.

On 8/27/2022 at 4:07 PM, Guest Gary said:

2.  Is the President allowed to have another Board member hand deliver a list of his proposed votes on paper before the motions have been made?

I do not understand what you mean by this question. If you are asking whether a member can have the president vote for him, the answer is a resounding no unless this is permitted by your bylaws.

 

[Rob Elsman]

There is a quorum, and the motion is properly rejected.  The same motion or a different admissible motion on the same subject can be made at any subsequent session.

[Rob Elsman]

Nothing in RONR (12th ed.) prohibits the hand-delivery of notes outside a meeting.  But then, it wouldn't, since such matters are beyond the scope of parliamentary law.

[Atul Kapur]

On 8/27/2022 at 5:07 PM, Guest Gary said:

Is the President allowed to have another Board member hand deliver a list of his proposed votes on paper before the motions have been made?

If I understand correctly, you are asking whether the president could, effectively, vote as an absentee or by proxy; that is, can the president's votes on this piece of paper be counted as if the president was present and voted the way indicated? 

If that's the question, the answer is emphatically "No." "It is a fundamental principle of parliamentary law that the right to vote is limited to the members of an organization who are actually present at the time the vote is taken in a regular or properly called meeting" RONR (12th ed.) 45:56 [emphases added]

[Josh Martin]

On 8/27/2022 at 4:07 PM, Guest Gary said:

Does the motion fail for lack a majority?

Yes.

On 8/27/2022 at 4:07 PM, Guest Gary said:

If the motion fails can it be re-introduced at the next regular meeting if placed on the agenda? If yes, how can the previous failed motion be handled?

Yes (and even if it is not placed on the agenda, unless the organization's rules provide otherwise). This is handled the same as any other motion. When a motion has been defeated, the motion may be "renewed" (made again as if for the first time) at the next session of the assembly.

On 8/27/2022 at 4:07 PM, Guest Gary said:

Is the President allowed to have another Board member hand deliver a list of his proposed votes on paper before the motions have been made?

I'm not entirely certain I understand this question. If Mr. Brown and Dr. Kapur guess correctly that the President is going to be absent from the meeting (or a portion thereof) and is attempting to have another member who will be present vote on his behalf (known as a "proxy vote"), then I concur with their responses.

If you mean something else, please clarify.

Edited August 27, 2022 at 11:21 PM by Josh Martin

[Gary Novosielski]

On 8/27/2022 at 5:07 PM, Guest Gary said:

If a motion is made at a Board meeting with four of the five directors present (President absent), and a 2-2 vote results:

1.  Does the motion fail for lack a majority?

2.  If the motion fails can it be re-introduced at the next regular meeting if placed on the agenda?  If yes, how can the previous failed motion be handled?

2.  Is the President allowed to have another Board member hand deliver a list of his proposed votes on paper before the motions have been made?

 

1. Yes it does.

2 Yes; even if not placed on the agenda, by moving it under New Business.  Failed motions require no "handling' as such.  They are simply noted in the minutes as having been made and rejected.

2.[sic] It's not clear who his refers to, but it's fairly clear that the whole thing is improper in any case.  If a deliberative assembly is worthy of the name, members should not have not made a final decision regarding a motion before it is ever made.