Unanimous Consent

[Guest Ron]

if someone wants to abstain from voting, does this negate unanimous consent?

[Gary Novosielski]

When the chair receives a unanimous consent request, or seeks unanimous consent by saying "Without objection..." or "If there is not objection..." then remaining silent will imply consent.  Since abstaining in ordinary votes is tantamount to consenting to whatever the majority decides, I see very little difference.

However, if a member explicitly does not want the unanimous consent to succeed, for whatever reason, they would object at that point, the chair would declare "Objection is heard" and continue to handle the question like any other.  The member could then abstain on the vote on the question, but since abstentions are not typically called for or recorded, the end result would appear to be no better than simply not objecting.

There is a certain breed of member who gets intensely worked up in assuring that their abstention is made clear.  I've never really understood that, since by abstaining you are effectively saying you don't care about the outcome. 

Matters might be different in the case of a roll-call vote, where it is possible to see who voted how.   In that event, when called, a member can answer "Present" or "Abstain", and the fact that they chose not to vote is recorded.  In many years on a school board I answered Present only once, when I did not want to be seen to stand in the way of what would be certain passage, but I could not in good conscience be supportive of the organization involved.

 

 

 

[Atul Kapur]

Slightly shorter response:

On 3/8/2023 at 3:49 PM, Guest Ron said:

if someone wants to abstain from voting, does this negate unanimous consent?

Under RONR, no.

4:58
... unanimous consent, or as it was formerly also called, general consent ...

4:59
To obtain unanimous consent in either case, the chair states that “If there is no objection … [or, “Without objection …”],” the action that he mentions will be taken; or he may ask, “Is there any objection to … ?” He then pauses, and if no member calls out, “I object,” the chair announces that, “Since there is no objection … ,” the action is decided upon.

However, some people and organizations attach a different meaning to this term to mean that everyone voted in favour and no one abstained. So it would be prudent to confirm how your group interprets the term.

[Dan Honemann]

On 3/8/2023 at 3:49 PM, Guest Ron said:

if someone wants to abstain from voting, does this negate unanimous consent?

No.  From RONR, 12th ed., 4:60:

   “Unanimous consent” does not necessarily imply that every member present is in favor of the proposed action; it may only mean that the opposition, feeling that it is useless to oppose or discuss the matter, simply acquiesces. Similarly, when a member responds to the chair's inquiry, “Is there any objection…?” with “I object,” he may not necessarily oppose the motion itself, but may believe that it is wise to take a formal vote under the circumstances. In other words, the objection is raised, not to the proposed action, but to the action's being taken without a formal vote. No member should hesitate to object if he feels it is desirable to do so, but he should not object merely for dilatory purposes. If a member is uncertain of the effect of an action proposed for unanimous consent, he can call out, “I reserve the right to object,” or, “Reserving the right to object,…” After brief consultation he can then object or withdraw his reservation.