President - Vote

[Guest Vdunn]

In our by-laws under the role of President there is a sentence that states - The President shall be an ex officio member, with voting power, of all committees.

Does this mean that the President can vote at Board meetings or just in committee meetings?  Thank you

[Bruce Lages]

By itself, that statement would not grant the president the right to vote at board meetings, or even make him a member of the board. But there should be a separate statement in your bylaws that defines the composition and the powers of the board. You need to check that statement to see if your president is a voting member of the board. I would say that it is very likely that your president is a voting member of the board, since that is a very common situation is most, if not all, ordinary societies, and that in addition, he is also likely to be designated as the chair of the board.

[Richard Brown]

Agreeing with Mr. Lages, what do your bylaws say about the composition of the board? Do they not specify who the members of the board are? 

if the bylaws do not specify, in one way, or another, that the president is a member of the board, then I agree with Mr. Lages that making him an ex officio member of committees does not make him an ex officio member of the board. A board is not the same thing as a committee. 

I will add that I think it would be rather unusual, perhaps most unusual, if the president is not a member of the board.

 

[Josh Martin]

On 2/11/2024 at 12:10 PM, Guest Vdunn said:

In our by-laws under the role of President there is a sentence that states - The President shall be an ex officio member, with voting power, of all committees.

Does this mean that the President can vote at Board meetings or just in committee meetings?  Thank you

This rule is applicable only to committees. So this rule, acting alone, only grants the President the right to vote in committee meetings.

I imagine there are, however, other rules which pertain to the membership of the board. So I cannot say at this time whether or not the President has the right to vote at board meetings. I concur with my colleagues that I would be surprised if he did not.

[Guest Vdunn]

Yes our President is a Primary Officer of our Board along with the other Primary Officers VP, Treasurer, Recording Sec and Membership Sec.  Then we have 5 Directors and the immediate Past President. 

[Guest Vdunn]

The President is one of 5 Primary Officers along with the VP, Treasurer, Recording Sec and Membership Sec.  Then we have 5 Directors

In our By-laws the section I mention above is the only section that states anything about the President voting.  It does say that if something is not stated in the by-laws that we then go to Roberts Rules of Order and Maine Law.

[Dan Honemann]

On 2/12/2024 at 9:13 PM, Guest Vdunn said:

The President is one of 5 Primary Officers along with the VP, Treasurer, Recording Sec and Membership Sec.  Then we have 5 Directors

In our By-laws the section I mention above is the only section that states anything about the President voting.  It does say that if something is not stated in the by-laws that we then go to Roberts Rules of Order and Maine Law.

According to  Robert's Rules of Order, a member of a board is a person having all rights of membership, including the right to vote, unless the bylaws or applicable law provide otherwise.  Apparently your bylaws do not provide otherwise.  I do not know if applicable law provides otherwise, but I doubt that it does.

I gather from what you say that your President is a member of your Board, and so, based solely on what you have posted, it would appear that he has the right to vote at meetings of your Board.

[Josh Martin]

On 2/12/2024 at 8:08 PM, Guest Vdunn said:

Yes our President is a Primary Officer of our Board along with the other Primary Officers VP, Treasurer, Recording Sec and Membership Sec.  Then we have 5 Directors and the immediate Past President. 

Then it would appear to me the President has the right to vote in meetings of the board.

On 2/12/2024 at 8:13 PM, Guest Vdunn said:

In our By-laws the section I mention above is the only section that states anything about the President voting.  It does say that if something is not stated in the by-laws that we then go to Roberts Rules of Order and Maine Law.

The default assumption is that all members of an assembly have all of the rights of membership, unless the bylaws provide otherwise.

[Richard Brown]

I agree with my colleagues that the president is apparently a member of the board and is therefore entitled to vote just like all other board members.  However, his membership on the board and his right to vote is due to him being a member of the board, not due to that bylaw provision about the president being an ex-officio voting member of all committees.  As I believe others have pointed out, that provision has nothing to do with this.