Can the league reverse its decision by revoting?

Parliamentary Procedure Q&A

Q: At our league soccer meeting a vote was taken on a motion to not accept a contract offer from our referee association by an 18 to 6 roll call vote. Immediately after that a discussion ensued. The board took a revote of the same motion. This time it passed by a show of hands. Can the same motion be revoted on after it was defeated at the same meeting? I feel that the inital vote is valid. How many times can the same motion be voted on in the same meeting? Some people left after the vote was taken initially. - M.I., Feb. 3, 2000

A: You're right. The revote was out of order. (See RONR p. 332.)

It is possible to reconsider a vote taken earlier at the same meeting (by the motion to Reconsider), but this was obviously not done in this case.

But now, you may have a more difficult problem. Even though the revote was out of order, it's likely the referee association has been notified of the decision. To reverse that now might put your league in a precarious legal position regarding breach of contract. And even if it doesn't reverse the decision, it's also conceivable the league is in jeopardy of a suit from its own members for illegally contracting with the referees. Check with an attorney before taking any further action.

HOME QUESTIONS OTHER SITES