The Power of
NO! Beverly Przybylski, PRP
When taking a voice vote, the “no” vote, even by the minority, is frequently louder than the “affirmative” vote. In a recent association meeting attended by about a dozen members, a voice vote was taken after which the chair announced, “The noes have it and the motion is lost.” As parliamentarians, we often look for learning opportunities. A member saw such an opportunity (he may have also doubted the announced results of the vote) and called for a division.1 Upon taking a rising vote, the chair discovered that only three members voted against the motion and there were far more members who stood when asked if they were in favor. For some reason, the “no voters” just seemed to be louder or more passionate when voicing their vote. But the power of the “no” vote isn’t just about saying it louder. The rules of parliamentary procedure actually gives the advantage to the member who wants to disapprove the motion. Simply put, it takes more votes to adopt a motion than it does to defeat a motion. A motion is defeated if there is an equal number of people in favor as against.2 A group opposed to a motion only needs a tie to defeat it, where it is necessary to have more than half (a majority) to adopt a motion.3 This rule applies to most motions. For some motions, it takes two-thirds to adopt. In that case, the 10 National Parliamentarian • Summer 2022
minority only needs a little more than one-third to vote against a motion in order to win the day—or at least derail the motion from its present course. “No” is only a two-letter word, yet carries a lot of power. There are only two one-letter words—“A” and “I,” but there are over one hundred two-letter words. You can hear the power of the word “no” when stated earnestly—NO! Can you do the same with “it,” “be,” “eh,” or “do”? These words just don’t carry the same tone as an emphatic NO! So, getting back to the weight of the “no” vote, in my view, “no” is stronger or weightier than “yes.” It is more powerful. In order to adopt a motion, there must be more yeses than noes, which gives an edge to “no.” If you think of it as a race, “no” begins in the lead. Let’s look at another way a member can say “no”: Point of Order.4 This is a member’s exclamation of “no” to the presiding officer, who is stating, “I do not agree…and you are required to rule on the matter.” The same can be said for Appeal (from the Decision of the Chair).5 In the first example, only one member is necessary to say, “no.” The 1 RONR (12th ed.) 4:52 2 RONR (12th ed.) 44:12 3 RONR (12th ed.) 1:6 4 RONR (12th ed.) 23:1 5 RONR (12th ed.) 24:1
