Parliamentary Procedure Q&A

Q: Our board consists of seven members, two of whom are non-voting members. At a recent meeting, four of the five voting members voted on an item. Two of the members abstained, the other two voted in favor of the motion. Is the motion adopted? - David S. Lis, Jan. 31, 2000

A: I was a little thrown by your question because an abstention is not a vote; it is just the opposite: a declination to vote. So, when I read that "four of the five voting members voted" and that "two of the members abstained," I couldn't make it add up.

Anyway, it is likely you had a quorum, having a majority of the voting members present. Given that, and the fact that both of the two votes were affirmative, the motion is adopted unanimously unless the voting requirement was for a majority of the voting members present (voting or not), in which case the motion failed.


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