E-mail motions and vote - June 2010

Q:The boards of many organizations have been conducting businesses and voting through e-mail between board meetings which have led to confusion and misunderstanding. Should the e-mail voting system be mentioned in the bylaws?

A:Yes. According to RONR p.2, “Efforts to conduct the deliberative process by postal or electronic mail or facsimile (fax) transmission-which are not recommended-must be expressly authorized by the bylaws and should be supported by special rules of order and standing rules as appropriate, since so many situations unprecedented in parliamentary law may arise and since many procedures common to parliamentary law are not applicable.” In other words, the organization’s bylaws should have something to allow the board making motions, debating and voting through e-mail. Then, the procedure (step-by-step) should be outlined in the standing rules or policy, separate from the bylaws. It is strongly encouraged to have face-to-face debate and voting at the meeting, unless of emergency nature that may arise between meetings. Once the e-mail vote is taken, it should be ratified at the next meeting and recorded in the minutes.