Can black ball vote be reconsidered?

Parliamentary Procedure Q&A

Q: I would like to know if anything can be done about a black ball vote on membership in an organization. Can the vote be reconsidered? Is it done by secret ballot? - P.D., Oct. 1, 1999

A: A vote can be reconsidered later that same day or the next day (if any) of a session. So, if your question is about a vote already taken, then reconsideration is too late.

Do your bylaws say that once rejected for membership, a person isn't eligible to re-apply? If not, just take the vote again at another meeting (it can't be the same meeting).

If you can't renew the election question, you can rescind the previous black ball election by:

a majority vote with previous notice;

a two-thirds vote without previous notice;

a majority vote of the entire membership.

Since the original method (black ball) was secret, I recommend a secret method be used in the vote to rescind, the easiest being by ballot.

After the vote is rescinded, you can re-ballot.

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