Deb Parm Posted May 15, 2023 at 08:59 PM Report Share Posted May 15, 2023 at 08:59 PM The bylaws say a simple majority determines the result. Can we use a Special Rule of Order (or some other method) to change that, temporarily, to 2/3? Or must it stay at a majority? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puzzling Posted May 15, 2023 at 09:37 PM Report Share Posted May 15, 2023 at 09:37 PM On 5/15/2023 at 9:59 PM, Deb Parm said: The bylaws say a simple majority determines the result. Can we use a Special Rule of Order (or some other method) to change that, temporarily, to 2/3? Or must it stay at a majority? Can you quote the bylaws snippet fully and literally? Almost always the bylaws cannot be overruled by special rules of order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted May 15, 2023 at 10:20 PM Report Share Posted May 15, 2023 at 10:20 PM On 5/15/2023 at 4:59 PM, Deb Parm said: The bylaws say a simple majority determines the result. Can we use a Special Rule of Order (or some other method) to change that, temporarily, to 2/3? Or must it stay at a majority? You can use a motion to Suspend the Rules to require a higher threshold for a particular motion or for a particular session. Doing so will require a two-thirds vote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. J. Posted May 15, 2023 at 10:52 PM Report Share Posted May 15, 2023 at 10:52 PM On 5/15/2023 at 6:20 PM, Gary Novosielski said: You can use a motion to Suspend the Rules to require a higher threshold for a particular motion or for a particular session. Doing so will require a two-thirds vote. Depending on the bylaw wording, a majority may be all that is needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted May 15, 2023 at 11:06 PM Report Share Posted May 15, 2023 at 11:06 PM On 5/15/2023 at 6:52 PM, J. J. said: Depending on the bylaw wording, a majority may be all that is needed. Well, that's true. If the bylaws say only a majority is needed for any decision whatsoever, then only a majority might be needed to raise the threshold to two-thirds. Oh, the irony! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. J. Posted May 16, 2023 at 03:47 AM Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 at 03:47 AM On 5/15/2023 at 7:06 PM, Gary Novosielski said: Well, that's true. If the bylaws say only a majority is needed for any decision whatsoever, then only a majority might be needed to raise the threshold to two-thirds. Oh, the irony! A reasonably common one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted May 16, 2023 at 10:47 AM Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 at 10:47 AM On 5/15/2023 at 3:59 PM, Deb Parm said: The bylaws say a simple majority determines the result. Can we use a Special Rule of Order (or some other method) to change that, temporarily, to 2/3? Or must it stay at a majority? I concur with my colleagues that a Special Rule of Order cannot conflict with the bylaws, but that the rule in question may be suspended in a particular case. In the long run, of course, the solution to this problem is to amend the bylaws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted May 16, 2023 at 05:08 PM Report Share Posted May 16, 2023 at 05:08 PM On 5/15/2023 at 4:59 PM, Deb Parm said: The bylaws say a simple majority determines the result. Agreeing with @Josh Martin, it's not a great idea to include a statement like that in the bylaws. In the first place, the use of the term "simple majority" is an indicator that the author was not well versed in Robert's Rules, and further scrutiny might be well advised. And since a majority vote is the default threshold for any vote not assigned a higher one by some superseding rule, it's not necessary to state the rule at all. Another problem is that RONR does require higher thresholds, such as a two-thirds vote for certain other situations, especially where the rights of the minority are being protected. Making a blanket statement that all votes are decided by a majority will have undesired side effects. It would supersede all the special cases in RONR, all of which are there for good reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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