What does the vice president do?
One job by default, a bigger one if the presidency opens up.
The vice president's main job is to preside over meetings when the president can't, whether that's a single meeting or the rest of the term. Under Robert's Rules' default rule, if the presidency becomes vacant by death or resignation, the vice president automatically becomes president, unless the bylaws set a different successor, so check yours first.
Presiding when the president can't
Where a board's bylaws have adopted a parliamentary authority such as Robert's Rules of Order, check yours to confirm, that authority's default rule is simple: the vice president steps into the chair the moment the president has to leave, whether that's mid-meeting or for the whole session. Nobody votes on it in the moment. It's the vice president's seat to take.
"If it is necessary for the chairman to vacate the chair the first Vice President, if there is one, should take the chair, and in his absence the next one in order should take it."
Source: Robert's Rules of Order Revised, Ch. XI, public domain 1915 edition
This is a temporary handoff. Presiding for one meeting, or for the rest of a president's term, does not by itself make the vice president the president. That's a separate question, covered next.
If the presidency becomes vacant
A resignation or death is different from a president simply stepping out of the room. Robert's Rules' own default rule, again only where your bylaws have adopted it and haven't written their own succession language, promotes the vice president into the president's seat automatically, no board vote required.
"The vice president automatically becomes the president if the president dies or resigns."
Source: Robert's Rules for Filling Vacancies in Offices, C. Alan Jennings, PRP, Dummies.com
Treat this as a fallback, not an assumption. Many HOA bylaws write their own succession order, sometimes naming a different officer, sometimes requiring a board vote instead. Read that section of your bylaws before you assume anything about who moves up.
What the title alone does not grant
Vice president is still an officer position, not a source of independent authority. Directors are seated by the membership; officers, including the vice president, are elected by the board and carry only the authority the board and bylaws give them. Stepping into the chair, or even into the presidency, does not hand the vice president any power the president didn't already have: one vote in a properly convened meeting, plus whatever narrow duties the bylaws assign.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
The president has to step out mid-meeting and won't be back. Who takes the chair for the rest of the meeting?
Your bylaws say nothing about who succeeds a president who resigns mid-term. Under Robert's Rules' own default, what happens?
Your bylaws name the treasurer, not the vice president, as successor if the president resigns. Which rule controls?
Sources
- Robert's Rules of Order, Official Interpretations, Robert's Rules Association
- Robert's Rules of Order Revised, Ch. XI, "The Officers and the Minutes", public domain 1915 edition
- Robert's Rules for Filling Vacancies in Offices, C. Alan Jennings, PRP, Dummies.com
- Differences Between HOA Board of Directors vs. Officers, NowackHoward
Board Roles
Next, learn what the president can't do alone, either, and why that matters just as much for the vice president once they're in the chair.
Whether Robert's Rules applies to your board at all, and what happens if the presidency becomes vacant, both depend on your bylaws. Check your bylaws' succession language before assuming the vice president automatically becomes president.