Oh, really, Dave? You’re doing a blog about quorums, voting, and abstentions? Yes, because many clubs and organizations may not know what these mean, how they work, or the impact on decisions they make. So, send this to them as a guide!
Quorum: Quorum is the amount of members of a group or body that must be present in order to conduct business. This is usually spelled out in the governing documents of the group, such as the by-laws or constitution. It is typically based on the membership of the club or organization or the required number of seats in a group like student government. For example, if club roster has 25 members and the by-laws require a quorum of 50% of the dues paid members to be present at a meeting to be able to take a vote, then 13 of those members have to be present. As members are added throughout the year, the quorum will change.
When I was in college, the governing documents of our student government stated that we should have 25 senators. For quorum, we needed 50% + 1 of the 25 to be present, or 14. This was the standard, even if we had open seats! The year I was Vice-President Pro-Tempore of the Senate, we got down to 18 seated senators at one point. We had to work to fill those seats because we came close to missing quorum a few times!
Does that mean you can’t hold a meeting if you don’t have quorum? Not necessarily. You just cannot take votes or conduct official business. You can still discuss topics and work to reach consensus. When I was the president of the Georgia Mortgage Association we had a 30-member board of people from around the state and rarely could achieve a quorum. So, the members present would discuss business, come to a consensus, and we would confirm everything through a mail vote.
Voting: This is one of the most basic of rights and responsibilities as a member. Many issues are pretty easy, but sometimes things can get a little more complex. For simple issues with little disagreement, I think a voice vote is sufficient. If you feel a need to document the numbers on a vote, go to raising hands. Should you want to show how each member voted, do a roll call where you call their name and then the secretary records the result in the minutes. If the matter is especially difficult or contentious, you can use a secret ballot. Slips of paper are ok — you don’t have to print up something formal.
There are three types of votes: “Aye”, “Nay” or abstentions. The chair calls for a vote and says something like, 1) “All in favor? Signify by saying ‘aye’ or ‘yes’. 2) All opposed? Say ‘nay’ or ‘no’. 3) Any abstentions?”
And then the motion passes (carries) or fails, usually by a majority vote. That brings us to:
Abstentions: An abstention is basically a refusal to vote because the member does not want to express an opinion on the matter. It has the effect of a “no” vote because the member did not vote in favor. So, if your governing documents require a majority vote in favor, then abstentions can prevent that from happening. As an example, when I was on the Circle K International Board as a Vice-President, we had an issue that was very contentious. We had an 11-member board and there were 10 of us on the board who voted (the President ran the meetings and did not vote) so six votes in favor were required to pass something. When we finally voted, the vote came down to 4 in favor, 3 against, and 3 abstentions. Our president declared that the motion passed, 4-3. That was incorrect. Since 6 affirmative votes of the members present and voting was required, the motion actually failed since it did not receive the required number of votes.
Running meetings and navigating parliamentary procedure are not that hard—if you know how! I have two programs that can help your students: Fun and Exciting Meetings and Parliamentary Procedure for Student Leaders (or a more extensive one for Student Government). I would love to bring this kind of rich content to your campus for your students. You can check out all of my topics on my program page. Please call my office at 770-552-6592 or email me at DaveKelly@GonzoSpeaks.com to discuss a date to have me at your school. Booking me will not break the bank – check out my Affordable Pricing Model for a quote! I look forward to serving your students!