Common Misunderstandings of Parliamentary Procedure 1. Nominations & Elections Nominations are not necessary Strictly speaking, nominations are not necessary when an election is by ballot or roll call, since each member is free to vote for any eligible person, whether he has been nominated or not. (p. 430) A member need not be recognized by the chair A member need not be recognized by the chair to make a nomination. (p. 432) No second necessary No second is required, but sometimes one or more members will second a nomination to indicate endorsement. (p. 432) Motions to close or reopen nominations In the average society, a motion to close nominations is not a necessary part of the election procedure and it should not generally be moved. In very large bodies, the formality of a motion to close nominations is sometimes allowed, but this motion is not in order until a reasonable opportunity to make nominations has been given; as noted above, it is out of order if a member is rising, addressing the chair, or otherwise attempting to make a nomination, and it always requires a two-thirds vote. (p. 288) Closing nominations - no motion necessary When it appears that no one else wished to make a nomination, the chair should ask if there are any further nominations; and if there is no response, he normally declared that nominations (for that office) are closed, without waiting for a motion to that effect, (p. 436) Impropriety of limiting voting in the election to the two leading candidates Often the leading candidates for a position will represent two different factions, and division within the organization may be deepened by limiting the election to them. On the other hand, it may be possible to unite the members if the assembly has the choice of a compromise candidate. (p. 437) Removing the nominee with the lowest number of votes if any office remains unfilled after the first ballot, as may happen if there are more than two nominees, the balloting is repeated for that office as many times as necessary to obtain a majority vote for a single candidate. When repeated balloting for an office is necessary, individuals are never removed from candidacy on the next ballot unless they voluntarily withdraw-which they are not obligated to do. The candidate in lowest place may turn out to be a "dark horse" on whom all factions may prefer to agree. (p. 441) Ballot clerks the chair appoints tellers to distribute, collect, and count the ballots, and to report the vote. The tellers should be chosen for accuracy and dependability, should have the confidence of the membership, and should not have a direct personal involvement in the question or in the result of the vote to an extent that they should refrain from voting under the principle stated on page 407. (p. 414)
2. Motions Making a motion To make a main motion, a member must obtain the floor, as explained above, when no other question is pending and when business of the kind represented by the motion is in order. (p.33) Obtaining the floor Before a member in an assembly can make a motion or speak in debate - the parliamentary name given to any form of discussion of the merits of a motion-he must obtain the floor; that is, he must be recognized by the chair as having the exclusive right to be heard at that time. (29) Motion is not before the body until stated by the chair Neither the making nor the seconding of a motion places it before the assembly; only the chair can do that, by the third step (stating the question). (p. 32) In principle, the chair must state the question on a motion immediately after it has been made and seconded, unless he is obliged to rule that the motion is out of order or unless, in his opinion, the wording is not clear. (p. 39) Seconding a motion After debate has begun or, if there is no debate, after any member has voted, the lack of a second has become immaterial and it is too late to make a point of order that the motion has not been seconded. (p.37) Explanation before making motion Under parliamentary procedure, strictly speaking, discussion of any subject is permitted only with references to a pending motion. When necessary, a motion can be prefaced by a few words of explanation, which must not become a speech; (p.34) Withdrawing a motion Until the chair states the question, the maker has the right to modify his motion as he pleases or to withdraw it entirely. After the question has been stated by the chair, the motion becomes the property of the assembly, and then its maker can do neither of these things without the assembly's consent (p. 40) 3. Decorum in Debate Chair speaking in debate Except in committees and small boards, the presiding officer should not enter into discussion of the merits of pending questions (unless, in rare instances, he leaves the chair until the pending business has been disposed of, as described on pp. 394-95). (p. 43) The presiding officer who relinquished the chair then should not return to it until the pending main question has been disposed of, since he has shown himself to be a partisan as far as that particular matter is concerned. (p. 395) Refrain from attacking a members motives When a question is pending, a member can condemn the nature or likely consequences of the proposed measure in strong terms, but he must avoid personalities, and under no circumstances can he attack or question the motives of another member. The measure not the member, is the subject of debate. (p. 392) 2
Speaking to the merits of the motion Debate must be confined to the to the merits of the pending question. Speakers must address their remarks to the chair, maintain a courteous tone, and-especially in reference to any divergence of opinion-should avoid injecting a personal note into debate. To this end, they must never attack or make any allusion to the motives of members. As already noted, speakers should refer to officers only by title, and should avoid the mention of other members' names as much as possible. (p. 43) In debate a member's remarks must be germane to the question before the assembly-that is, his statements must have bearing on whether the immediately pending motion should be adopted. (p. 392) Address the chair Members of an assembly cannot address one another directly, but must address all remarks through the chair. (p. 392) 4. Handling of motions Motion to Postpone The subsidiary motion to Postpone to a Certain Time (or Postpone Definitely, or Postpone) is the motion by which action on a pending question can be put off, within limits, to a definite day, meeting, or hour, or until after a certain event. (p. 179) Motion to table The motion to Lay on the Table enables the assembly to lay the pending question aside temporarily when something else of immediate urgency has arisen or when something else needs to be addressed before consideration of the pending question is resumed, (p. 209) This motion is commonly misused in ordinary assemblies--in place of the motion to Postpone Indefinitely (11) to Postpone to a Certain Time (14), or other motions. Particularly in such misuses, it also is known as a motion "to table." By adopting the motion to Lay on the Table, a majority has the power to halt consideration of a question immediately without debate. Such action violates the rights of the minority and individual members if it is for any other purpose than the one stated in the first sentence of this section. (p. 210) It is out of order to move to lay a pending question on the table if there is evidently no other matter urgently requiring immediate attention. (p. 215) Postpone Indefinitely Postpone Indefinitely is a motion that the assembly decline to take a position on the main question. Its adoption kills the main motion (for the duration of the session) and avoids a direct vote on the question. It is useful in disposing of a badly chosen main motion that cannot be either adopted or expressly rejected without possibly undesirable consequences. (p. 126) Reconsider Reconsider--a motion of American origin--enables a majority in an assembly, within a limited time and without notice, to bring back for further consideration a motion which has already been voted on. The purpose of reconsidering a vote is to permit correction of hastily, ill advised, or erroneous action, or to take into account added information or a changed situation that has developed since the taking of the vote. a) It can be made only by a member who voted on the prevailing side. 3
b) The making of this motion is subject to time limits, as follows: In a session of one day--such as an ordinary meeting of a club or a one day convention--the motion to Reconsider can be made only on the same day the vote to be reconsidered was taken. (p. 315-316) 5. Point of Order Point of Order When a member thinks that the rules of the assembly are being violated, he can make a Point of Order (or "raise a question of order," as it is sometimes expressed), thereby calling upon the chair for a ruling and an enforcement of the regular rules. (p. 247) If a member is uncertain as to whether there is a breach on which a point of order can be made, he can make a parliamentary inquiry of the chair (see pp. 293-94). In ordinary meetings it is undesirable to raise points of order on minor irregularities of a purely technical character, if it is clear that no one s rights are being infringed upon and no real harm is being done to the proper transaction of business. (p. 250) 6. Appeal Appealing the Ruling of the Chair By electing a presiding officer, the assembly delegates to him the authority and duty to make necessary rulings on questions of parliamentary law. But any two members have the right to Appeal from his decision on such a question. By one member making (or "taking") the appeal and another seconding it, the question is taken from the chair and vested in the assembly for final decision. Members have no right to criticize a ruling of the chair unless they appeal from his decision. (p. 256) Is in order when another has the floor, but the appeal must be made at the time of the ruling. If any debate or business has intervened, it is too late to appeal. Must be seconded. Is debatable, unless it (a) relates to indecorum or a transgression of rules of speaking; (b) relates to the priority of business; or (c) is made when an undebatable question is immediately pending or involved in the appeal. When an appeal is debatable, no member is allowed to speak more than once except for the presiding officer-who need not leave the chair while speaking, but should stand. (p. 257-58) No appeal can be made from the chair s response to a parliamentary inquiry or other query, since such a reply is an opinion rendered by the chair, not a ruling on a question that has actually risen. (p. 259) 7. Call the Question Moving the Previous Question The Previous Question is the motion used to bring the assembly to an immediate vote on one or more pending questions; its adoption does this with certain exceptions. (p.197) But regardless of the wording of a motion or "call" seeking to close debate, it always requires a second and a two-thirds vote, taken separately from and before the vote(s) on the motion(s) to which it is applied, to shut off debate against the will of even one member who wishes to speak and has not exhausted his right to debate (see pp. 44, 387-90) (p. 202). 4
8. Voting Announcing the vote If the chair feels that members may question a somewhat close result of which he is reasonably convinced, he can first say, "The ayes (or "the noes") seem to have it." The chair then pauses, and any member who doubts the result is thus invited to demand verification of the vote by a division, as explained below. (p. 51) Division of the Assembly A member can demand a division from the moment the negative votes have been cast until the result of the vote has been announced or immediately thereafter (see pp. 408-9). (p. 52) Right of abstention Although it is the duty of every member who has an opinion on a question to express it by his vote, he can abstain, since he cannot be compelled to vote. (p. 407) Explaining your vote during voting A member has no right to "explain his vote" during voting, which would be the same as debate at such a time. (p. 408) Changing one's vote A member has a right to change his vote up to the time the result is announced; after that, he can make the change only by the unanimous consent of the assembly requested and granted, without debate, immediately following the chair s announcement of the result of the vote (see below). (p. 408) Adoption of a motion or action without a motion In cases where there seems to be no opposition in routine business or on questions of little importance, time can often be saved by the procedure of unanimous consent, or as it was formerly also called, general consent. (p. 54) Whenever it is stated in this book that a certain action or the adoption of a certain motion "requires a two-thirds vote," the same action can, in principle, also be taken by unanimous consent. (p. 56) Complete announcement 1) Report of the voting itself, stating which side "has it"--that is, which side is more numerous-or, in the case of a motion requiring a two-thirds vote for adoption, whether there are two thirds in the affirmative. If the vote has been counted, the chair should first give the count before announcing the prevailing side. 2) Declaration that the motion is adopted or lost. 3) Statement indicating the effect of the vote, or ordering its execution, if needed or appropriate. (p. 48) Italicized references are to "Robert s Rules of Order, Newly Revised" 11 th Edition Prepared By: J. Michael Blaska Director of Programs and Services Wisconsin Counties Association 5