[Lnc-business] Point of order regarding abstention and alternate voting

[Nicholas Sarwark]

Dear All,

Not voting is not a vote. Everything else is commentary.

Under Robert’s Rules, an abstention, express or otherwise, is not a vote. They may be noted for clarity, such as accurately reflecting that a member was present for the purposes of quorum, or that the member didn’t miss the vote, but they do not change the vote count and do not count for the calculations of 2/3 or 3/4 unless there is a particular rule that refers to the number of members in the committee or number of members in attendance.  By default, vote thresholds are of members “present and voting.”

A regional alternate does not get a vote except in the absence of a regional representative’s vote, by stepping away from the table at an in-person meeting or by abstaining in a mail ballot.  

In absence of a specific rule in the bylaws or policy manual about express abstentions (as opposed to custom or past practice), Mr. O’Donnell’s abstention does not count as a vote for either the purpose of how many votes are required to meet the 3/4 threshold or for preventing Mr. Lyons’ vote from being counted as regional alternate and tallied.

Yours truly,
Nick

P.S. If you would like to read more about the abstention issue, which is very commonly misunderstood, the following links may be of interest:
http://www.robertsrules.com/faq.html#6
https://www.lawoforderblog.com/2018/03/4-things-most-people-get-wrong-about-abstentions/
https://www.davis-stirling.com/HOME/Voting-Abstention