Tie Vote for VP-Roberts Rules

Hi,

We are a new board for an established Association. There are 9 of us on the board and last week we had an election of officers. One board member didn't attend so only 8 showed up. For VP, we had 4 votes for one person and 4 votes for another. (The president's vote was included in this tally.) We decided to table the vote until the next meeting (tommorow) when hopefully all 9 of us will be there. However, one of the VP candidates is of the opinion that since there were only 8 present, the president should have abstained from voting which would have given her the win. We're supposed to follow Roberts Rules which I'm having trouble applying to our situation. Please help. Many thanks.

Thanks, Ann. I did read that before I posted but am still unclear as to what should have taken place in our situation. Since we're a small association, our president gets to vote and with his vote a tie occured for VP. So, should we have tabled the vote until tomorrow's meeting or should the president not have voted in the first place because his vote "could" have affected the outcome in the event of a tie since only an even number of board members showed up?

I think since the president was eligible to vote and since the vote resulted in a tie, we were correct in tabling the vote until the next meeting but I'm not sure. I apologize for my density but the rules seem vague. When exactly can a president vote in an election or on a motion? Would it be always or only when a tie vote is a possibility?

Thanks.

If the president is a director (board member), the president has the same right to vote just as any other director (board member). In order to preserve the impartiality of the chair (or presiding officer), unless the vote is by secret ballot, the president (or chair), if a member of the assembly, typically casts a vote only when the vote will affect the result. (RONR, 11th ed., page 53)

"ONE PERSON, ONE VOTE. It is a fundamental principle of parliamentary law that each person who is a member of a deliberative assembly is entitled to one - and only one - vote on a question." (RONR, 11th ed., page 407). Thus, a person who is a board member (director) and also the president, is entitled to only one vote. That person is not entitled to one vote as a director and a second vote to break (or make) a tie.

Also note: "...the basic requirement for approval of an action or choice by a deliberative assembly, except where a rule provides otherwise, is a majority vote." {RONR, 11th ed., page 400).

Since a tie is not a majority, no one was elected as vice-president. When this happens, typically, the assembly is supposed to continue casting ballots until one person receives a majority. Practically, if it appears this will not happen, the vote for vice-president should have been postponed to a future meeting.

By the way, there is no such thing as tabling a motion in Roberts Rules. In fact, RONR contains no definition for such a motion. There is a motion, to lay on the table which has an entirely different meaning in Roberts Rules than it does in legislative use. It is commonly misused when the intention is to postpone consideration of a motion to some future time or date, or indefinitely.

Thank you all so much. I now understand the issue because of your expertise and patience. You're great!

You may want to look up the exact duties of the Vice President. You may be shocked to find it does NOT mean they automatically assume the Presidents position IF the President leaves. VP is the most figure headed positions. Their only duty maybe to hold the meetings if the President can't attend. They may also be able to sign checks if you have a 2 signature check system. That is about all. I used to be one myself. so you may just check the duties and let the candidates know. they may not want it and want to stay on the board only and NOT office position.