Voting Requirements

When a vote is taken, generally the meeting chair will choose the type of vote.

In a roll call vote each member's vote is stated and recorded in the meeting chat. This will generally be used in meetings where the members have constituencies, such as a Board of Directors meeting. In practice, all the members who have their laptops or phones on the chat will directly enter their own votes, and then help any other members who do not have their own connection. Always be sure to state clearly when a vote belongs to another member - who it is for and what their vote is.

In votes expected to be uncontested, the meeting chair may use a general consent vote and simply ask if there are any objections. No response is taken as a unanimous vote. If there are any objections, the chair should then conduct a vote by another appropriate method for the type of meeting.

In mass meetings, a show of hands or secret ballot are also acceptable methods of voting.

Non-voting Members

The voting members of a meeting body may admit non-voting members to participate in the discussion. The non-voting members may not make agenda requests or cast votes. But they may participate in discussions including full participation in consensus building. In fact, non-members who are stakeholders in any issue may be invited by the meeting chair to participate in consensus building on that issue. So non-voting members are considered to be stakeholders as well.

Technically these non-voting members are not in violation of any rules that require only official members to be granted voting privileges. By not allowing them to make agenda requests or cast votes, this is the maximum that anyone without the right to vote in the meeting can participate without crossing that line. It is considered a matter of policy of the meeting body whom it chooses to admit as non-voting members.