voice votes in teleconference

[Guest Gary]

Our small board is regionally disperse and conducts meetings via teleconference. In close cases a simple voice vote is unclear and as chair I find it necessary to ask for individual responses. Does this constitute a roll call vote to be entered in the minutes or can this be reported as though it were taken as a collective voice vote, show of hands, etc.?

[Kim Goldsworthy]

Our small board is regionally disperse and conducts meetings via teleconference. In close cases a simple voice vote is unclear and as chair I find it necessary to ask for individual responses. Does this constitute a roll call vote to be entered in the minutes or can this be reported as though it were taken as a collective voice vote, show of hands, etc.?

If you are looking for a "Book" reply, sad to report, RONR has no rules for "how to conduct a vote via telephone."

Personally, since you cannot get a definitive visual clue, I see no workaround but to conduct a roll call vote, every time.

Or, general consent, as often as possible.

[Guest Guest]

Thank you Kim for your quick reply.

My real question comes down to reporting this action once it occurs. Does it need to be recorded in minutes as a roll call vote or can it be treated as a secret vote in the minutes? Of course if a roll call vote were specifically moved and adopted that would be another matter. My question is rooted purely in the practicality of meeting over the phone on routine business.

Again, thank you,

Gary

[Shmuel Gerber]

Thank you Kim for your quick reply.

My real question comes down to reporting this action once it occurs. Does it need to be recorded in minutes as a roll call vote or can it be treated as a secret vote in the minutes? Of course if a roll call vote were specifically moved and adopted that would be another matter. My question is rooted purely in the practicality of meeting over the phone on routine business.

Again, thank you,

Gary

There is some pithy answer to all this, involving seeking shelter under roofs being torn down while eating cauliflower with two fists, but I forget the details.

[Josh Martin]

My real question comes down to reporting this action once it occurs. Does it need to be recorded in minutes as a roll call vote or can it be treated as a secret vote in the minutes? Of course if a roll call vote were specifically moved and adopted that would be another matter. My question is rooted purely in the practicality of meeting over the phone on routine business.

Voting by teleconference is not permitted unless specially authorized by the Bylaws. If it is not authorized, this question is moot. If it is authorized by the Bylaws, then your board should adopt rules to facilitate meeting by teleconference. As Mr. Goldsworthy has already noted, RONR has no rule on the matter.

Personally, I would suggest considering it to be a voice vote unless a roll call vote is ordered, even though the manner of taking the vote may seem similar to a roll call vote. I would also note that a roll call vote serves no legitimate purpose unless the assembly is responsible to an interested constituency.

I would also suggest that it's certainly not a show of hands vote unless these are video phones.

[alanh49]

Thank you Kim for your quick reply.

My real question comes down to reporting this action once it occurs. Does it need to be recorded in minutes as a roll call vote or can it be treated as a secret vote in the minutes? Of course if a roll call vote were specifically moved and adopted that would be another matter. My question is rooted purely in the practicality of meeting over the phone on routine business.

Again, thank you,

Gary

Unless an official roll call vote is ordered do not recorded it in the minutes as if it were.

The minutes should be a record of what was done and not what was said.

[Kim Goldsworthy]

My real question comes down to reporting this action once it occurs.

Does it need to be recorded in minutes as a roll call vote or can it be treated as a secret vote in the minutes?

I do not believe in falsifying minutes.

So I seriously doubt there is any justification to write down in the minutes a telephone-conducted vote as if it were a "secret ballot" with the concomitant anonymity and non-back-trace-ability which the phrase implies.

If the organization adopts a special rule saying otherwise, then that is their option.

(Perhaps they want no traceability or no accountability of their board members. Some boards do want anonymity of their true opinions from the general membership.)