Addendum to Rosenberg’s Rules of Order
September 12, 2006
Counting Votes
The matter of counting votes starts simple, but can become complicated.
Establishing a Quorum
The starting point for a meeting is the establishment of a quorum. A quorum is defined as the minimum number of members who must be present at a meeting for business to be legally transacted. The default rule is that a quorum is one more than half the body. So, for example, in a five-member body a quorum is three. When the body has three members present, it can legally transact business. If the body has less than a quorum of members present, it cannot legally transact business. And even if the body has a quorum to begin the meeting, the body can lose the quorum during the meeting when a member departs (or even when a member leaves the dais) and when that occurs the body loses its ability to transact business until and unless a quorum is reestablished.
The default rule identified above, however, gives way to a specific rule of the body which establishes a quorum. So, for example, the rules of a particular five-member body may indicate that a quorum is four members for that body; or the rules of another seven-member body may require that a quorum is only three members for that particular body. The body must follow the rules it has established for its quorum. In the absence of a rule, the quorum is one more than half the members of the body.
Counting Abstention Votes
Usually, it’s pretty easy to determine whether a particular motion passed or was defeated. If a simple majority vote is needed to pass a motion, then one vote more than 50% of the body is required. So, for example, in a five-member body, if the vote is 3 in favor and 2 opposed, the motion passes. If it is 2 in favor and 3 opposed, the motion is defeated.
If a two-thirds majority vote is needed to pass a motion, then how many affirmative votes are required? The simple rule of thumb is to count the “no” votes and double that count to determine how many “yes” votes are needed to pass a particular motion. So, for example, in a seven-member body, if 2 members vote “no” then the “yes” vote of 4 members is required to achieve a two-thirds majority vote to pass the motion.
In the event of a tie vote, the motion always fails as an affirmative vote is required to pass any motion. So, as an example, in a five-member body, if the vote is 2 in favor and 2 opposed with 1 member absent, the motion is defeated.
Vote counting starts to become complicated when members vote “abstain” or, in the case of a written ballot, cast a blank ballot. Do those “abstentions” count, and if so, how do you count them? The starting point is to check the rules of the body. If the rules of body say that you count votes of “those present” then you treat abstentions one way. However, if the rules of the body say that you count the votes of those “present and voting” then you treat abstentions a different way. As a general rule of thumb (and the default rule) if the rules of the body are silent on the subject, then you count all votes that are “present and voting”. Accordingly, you do NOT count abstain votes on the motion. Members who abstain are counted for purposes of determining quorum, but you treat the abstention votes on the motion as if they did not exist. On the other hand, if the rules of the body specifically say that you count votes of those “present”, then you DO count abstain vote both in establishing quorum and on the motion. In that event the abstention votes act just like a “no” vote.
How does this work in practice? Let’s look at a few examples.
Let’s assume that we have a five-member city council voting on a motion that requires a simple majority vote to pass, and let’s assume further that the body has no specific rule on counting votes. Accordingly, the default rule kicks in and we count all votes of members that are present and voting. If the vote on the motion is 3-2, the motion passes. If the vote is 2-2 with 1 abstention, the motion fails. It’s a tie vote and abstentions are counted for quorum purposes but on the actual vote on the motion, it is like the abstention vote never happened. If the vote were 2 “yes”, 1 “no” and 2 “abstentions”, the motion passes. Again, the abstention votes are essentially ignored on the motion and the effective vote is 2-1, motion passes. (As a word of caution, however, one must look to the rules of the body to see if the body has a particular rule regarding the number of “yes” votes required to pass a motion. For example, the body may have a rule that the affirmative vote of at least 3 members is required to pass a motion by a simple majority, and in such a case, a 2-1 vote would be insufficient to pass a motion.)
Let’s assume that we have a five-member city council voting on a motion that requires a two-thirds majority vote to pass, and let’s further assume that the body has no specific rule on counting votes. Again, the default rule applies. If the vote is 3-2, motion fails for lack of a two-thirds majority. If the vote is 4-1, motion passes with a clear two-thirds majority. A vote of 3 “yes”, 1 “no” and 1 “abstain” also results in passage of the motion. Once again, the abstention is counted only for the purpose of determining quorum, but on the actual vote on the motion, it is as if the abstention vote never existed – so an effective 3-1 vote is clearly a two-thirds majority vote. And even a vote of 2 “yes”, 1 “no”, 1 “abstain” and 1 “absent” allows the motion to pass. There is a quorum, and (ignoring the abstention) the effective vote of 2-1 provides an affirmative two-thirds vote, passing the motion.
Now, let’s change the scenario slightly. Let’s assume the same five-member city council voting on a motion that requires a two-thirds majority vote to pass, but let’s now assume that the body DOES have a specific rule requiring the two-thirds vote of members “present and voting”. Under this specific rule, we must count the members present and voting not only for quorum but also for the motion. In this scenario, any abstention has the same force and effect as a “no” vote. Accordingly, if the vote were 3 “yes”, 1 “no” and 1 abstain” then the motion fails. The abstention in this case is treated like a “no” vote and the effective vote of 3-2 is not enough to pass two-thirds majority muster. The same result (defeat of the motion) obtains if the vote were 2 “yes”, 1 “no” and 2 “abstain”. And again, the same result (defeat) occurs if the vote is 2 “yes”, 1 “no”, 1 “abstain” and 1 “absent”.
And how, exactly, does a member cast an “abstention” vote? Any time a member votes “abstain” or says “I abstain” – that is an abstention. However, if a member votes “present” that is also treated as an abstention (the member is, essentially, saying, “count me for purposes of a quorum, but my vote on the issue is abstain”). In fact, any manifestation of intention to vote neither “yes” or “no” on the pending motion may be treated by the chair as an abstention. And if written ballots are cast, a blank ballot is counted as an abstention as well.