When a 2/3 Vote Is Required but a Majority Vote Can Adopt By Lorenzo Cuesta, PRP
One of the critical steps in handling a motion is convincing the client that the proper voting threshold was selected to decide the adoption or defeat of a motion. First there is the confusing issue to some clients of the difference between the majority of the vote of the members vs. the majority of the entire membership. The majority of the vote of the members refers to greater than half (not 50% + 1) of the votes cast. The majority of the entire membership refers to greater than half (not 50% + 1) of the voting members on the membership roll. Only the documents of governance will determine the proper threshold each time a vote is taken. Nevertheless, client distrust may result when a vote is handled one way in one case, but differently in another case. Votes Cast For example, if a 20-member board with its 20 positions filled took a vote of 9 in favor, 8 against, and 3 abstaining or absent, the motion would typically be properly adopted. 12
National Parliamentarian • Summer 2020
The motion received a majority (i.e., 9 votes) of the 17 votes cast. Entire Membership On the other hand, a vote of 9 in favor, 8 against, and 3 abstaining or absent would defeat the motion if the bylaws required a majority of the entire membership, because the motion did not receive a majority of the 20 possible votes. The motion required 11 affirmative votes of the 20 members’ vote for adoption. A 2/3 vote requirement is not always simply 2/3 Besides these confusing cases of the majority vote (i.e., votes cast vs. members’ vote), there is the even more frustrating concept of the 2/3 vote threshold. Robert’s Rules of Order describes four potential thresholds for a required 2/3 vote, as listed below. Certain specific motions fall under one of the four potential thresholds.
