Three-Way Race

[Wright Stuff]

Three people ran for chair of an organization that follows RONR. When the first vote was counted, the two top vote getters were tied. The chair of the convention ruled that there be a runoff between the top two, thereby dropping the lowest vote getter. The organization’s bylaws do not include a voting procedure that would remedy this situation.

My understanding is that the fact that the two top vote getters were tied was irrelevant. By definition, no one received a majority. Therefore, the next and subsequent votes should have been for all three candidates (unless one chose to remove himself.) Am I correct?

Edited January 10, 2024 at 03:24 PM by Wright Stuff
Typo

[Joshua Katz]

You are correct.

[Gary Novosielski]

On 1/10/2024 at 12:40 AM, Wright Stuff said:

Three people ran for chair of an organization that follows RONR. When the first vote was counted, the two top vote getters were tied. The chair of the convention ruled that there be a runoff between the top two, thereby dropping the lowest vote getter. The organization’s bylaws do not include a voting procedure that would remedy this situation.

My understanding is that the fact that the two top vote getters were tied was irrelevant. By definition, no one received a majority. Therefore, the next and subsequent votes should have been for all three candidates (unless one chose to remove himself.) Am I correct?

Yes, you are correct.  The chair's ruling was incorrect.  Dropping the lowest vote from the ballot is not proper.  However, if no timely point of order was raised, I don't think this constitutes a continuing breach.

46:32
Whichever one of the preceding methods of election is used, if any office remains unfilled after the first ballot, the balloting is repeated for that office as many times as necessary to obtain a majority vote for a single candidate. When repeated balloting for an office is necessary, individuals are never removed from candidacy on the next ballot unless they voluntarily withdraw—which they are not obligated to do.¹ The candidate in lowest place may turn out to be a “dark horse” on whom all factions may prefer to agree. 

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¹  An organization could suspend the rules, or adopt a special rule of order, so that the nominee with the fewest votes is dropped from the list of nominees for succeeding ballots in the expectation that voters will then confine their choice to the remaining nominees. Only a bylaws provision, however, could make the dropped nominee ineligible for election so as to render illegal any subsequent votes cast for that nominee. (See 46:2.)

Edited January 10, 2024 at 06:21 PM by Gary Novosielski