President thinks he gets 2 votes.

We usually only have 4 members at a board meeting and when there is a tie vote the president says that he gets a second vote. I have been told that when there is a 2-2 vote and the president has voted, then that vote is thrown out. We are in Colorado and can not find any legal docs on this. What does happen when a vote is tied 2-2? Voting parties, President, Vice-President, Secretary, Member at Large.

I will just have to ask the President at the meeting here in 30 minutes to provide proof that he does get two votes. I do not recall seeing that in the by-laws. Thanks for agreeing on how ridicules it sounds. He does think he is all mighty.

What does happen in a tie 2-2 vote?

The motion fails for lack of a majority. Normal majority means that more then 50% of the body has approved the motion. If you have 50% then you are just short of a majority and thus the motion fails. If your rules ever call for a 2/3s majority then you must at minimum have 2/3 of the votes as yes.

Two sites to look at include:
www.robertsrules.com
www.robertsrules.org

The first site is from the keeper of what is officially Roberts Rules. They have quite a nice Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) section.

With your kind of set-up either you need another Member At Large so the Board is at 5, or the president should NOT be casting a general vote for any motion, so there is not apt to be a tie with that 4 count board.

Usually in small boards the president has the same rights and privileges as any other board member (to make motions and vote) so I'd see if you could get more board members.

Thank you all for you responses.

The idea of the chairman or president breaking a tie is found in two primary locations.

The first is that the Vice President of the US presides over the Senate. And he is allowed to cast a vote in the event of a tie. But he only votes at that time.

The second is Roberts Rules where they suggest that a chairman or president only vote when the vote will affect the outcome of the vote. But this is not a requirement. It is the idea that because of position the chairman or president should not exercise undue influence on the decision making process. Of course if your president followed this, you would normally not have a tie vote since three will always yield a definitive vote. The catch is though that the president is part of the quorum. In which case you need three votes to affect passage and the president would vote every time there is a split.

Do your documents state that there are to be four members of the Board? The best solution is a 5th member even if that means amending your documents.

Robert - Roberts Rules of order is a parliamentry procedure for conducting meetings. There are several other forms of parliamentary procedures your group could follow.

Roberts Rules defers to the higer documents, so if it were in the bylaws that the president does not vote - EXCEPT to break a tie, then that's fine. Like I said, in smaller boards, the president conducts himself much like regular board members, with ability to make motions and vote - but NOT twice!

In any case, it should be in writing.

Are you saying you have NO form of procedure to your meetings?

TamaraW - All board member at large means is that the director (board member_ doesn't hold an officer position. That member at large has just as much a say/vote as the other board members do.