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ASK THE PARLIAMENTARIAN
BY MIKE SWIFT, VVA PARLIAMENTARIAN
Q: Can members who did not attend a committee meeting vote
on the motion to approve the minutes of that meeting?
A: Minutes
are usually approved by unanimous consent without taking
a vote. If a vote is taken, all members of the committee
are entitled to vote on the motion to approve the minutes,
whether or not they attended the meeting at which the minutes
were taken. If, however, it is the end of the term of the
committee members, and the entire committee is being replaced,
they should approve the minutes of their last meeting at
the close of that meeting.
Q: What are the options available
after someone submits his or her resignation and it has been
accepted? Can it be “un-accepted” or
withdrawn?
A: When a resignation has been acted upon, or a
person has been elected to or expelled from membership or
office, and the person was present or has been officially
notified of the action, the only way to reverse an expulsion
is to follow whatever procedure is prescribed by the bylaws
for admission or reinstatement. Robert’s, page 298,
line 1.
Q: If
a member submits his or her resignation, can it be rejected
or denied?
A: Although the assembly can, by a vote,
reject a resignation or the individual appointing authority
can reject a resignation, it serves no practical purpose
in a volunteer organization such as VVA. If a member decides
a resignation is in everyone’s
best interest, it should be accepted by unanimous consent,
and an offer of gratitude for service rendered should be
extended to the member.
Q: A chapter is electing four directors
and there are six names on the ballot. If a member votes
for only two of the candidates, is his ballot void and not
counted?
A: No, the
ballot is not void and it is counted. If a member leaves
one or more of the choices blank on a ballot containing more
than one office to be filled, the blank spaces in no way
affect the validity of the spaces the member filled, and
for each of these votes, the member should be given credit
for one legal vote. Robert’s, page 402, line 3.
Q: When
voting, what is the difference between “a majority” and “a
majority of those present”?
A: A majority means a majority
of the votes cast with no consideration of those present,
and a majority of those present means the number of affirmative
votes must be a majority of those members attending the meeting.
By modifying the concepts of a majority vote, other bases
for determining a voting result are sometimes prescribed
by rule. Two elements enter into the definition of such bases
for decision: (1) the proportion that must concur—as
a majority, two thirds, three fourths, etc.; and (2) the
set of members to which the proportion applies—which
(a) when not stated, is always the number of members present
and voting, but (b) can be specified by rule as the number
of members present, the total membership, or some other grouping.
Robert’s,
page 389, line 20.
Send your questions on parliamentary
procedures to parliamentarian@vva.org Answers are based on
VVA’s parliamentary authority,
Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, 10th edition.
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©2006-
2011, Vietnam Veterans of America. All Rights Reserved. 8719 Colesville Road, Suite 100, Silver Spring, MD 20910