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When meetings go sidewaysLesson 23 of 25

Academy/Membership & Annual Meetings

Owner motions

What happens when a member says "I move that..." at a membership meeting

Any member can make a motion during a membership meeting. Once another member seconds it, the chair must state the motion and bring it before the assembly, whether or not the chair agrees with it. What business you can raise, and how many votes it needs, depends on the type of meeting and your own bylaws.

01

Any member can put a motion on the floor

A motion is how a member formally proposes that the association do something, rather than just talk about it. You do not need the chair's permission or advance notice to make one. The process is simple: a member says, "I move that...", another member says, "I second it," and the chair repeats the motion so everyone knows exactly what is being voted on.

Once a motion has a second, the chair cannot simply skip it or steer the meeting to the next agenda item. Under Robert's Rules, a properly seconded motion has to be heard.

"If seconded and still ignored, the member has the right, according to Robert's Rules of Order, to present the motion to the assembly, initiate debate, and call for a vote."

Source: Robert's Rules of Order: Role of Members, Cedar Management Group

If a chair tries to move past a seconded motion, point to this rule and ask that it be stated and put to a vote.

02

What you can move depends on the kind of meeting

Not every meeting is open to any motion. A special meeting, one called between annual meetings to handle a specific item, can act only on the business named in the notice that called it.

"Nothing, repeat nothing, can be considered in a special meeting if it's not included in the notice."

Source: Robert's Rules: Special Meetings, Dummies.com, C. Alan Jennings, PRP

So if a special meeting's notice named a proposed rule change as the topic, a motion to recall a director at that same meeting is out of order, no matter how much support it has.

A regular or annual meeting works differently: because its schedule is already fixed by the bylaws, its notice does not have to list every item of business the way a special meeting's does. Whether that means members can move new, unannounced business at your annual meeting, or whether your association's own agenda rules limit it, depends on your bylaws and any meeting-order rules your board has adopted. Check both before assuming a topic is open for a motion.

03

Passing a motion still takes the right number of votes

Most motions pass with a simple majority, which has a fixed meaning under Robert's Rules, not a loose one.

"The word 'majority' in this context means, simply, more than half."

Source: Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, official FAQ, Robert's Rules Association

Some motions, such as amending the bylaws or removing a director, may instead require a two thirds vote. Robert's Rules treats that threshold as an absolute floor: fewer votes does not qualify, no matter how close the count comes. Which motions at your association need more than a simple majority is set by your bylaws and, in some cases, by your state statute. Check both before you count a vote as final.

Check yourself

Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.

An owner at the annual meeting moves to amend the landscaping contract. Another owner immediately seconds it. The chair dislikes the idea and tries to move on to the next agenda item. What must the chair do under Robert's Rules?

The board calls a special meeting whose notice names a proposed rule change as the only topic. During the meeting, a member moves to remove a director instead. What happens to that motion?

Fourteen members cast votes on a motion that needs only a simple majority to pass. What is the fewest yes votes that adopts it?

Sources

Membership & Annual Meetings

Once a motion passes, it becomes a decision the association has to act on. See how that plays out in Owner resolutions.

Whether members may raise new, unannounced business at your annual meeting, and how many votes a particular motion needs to pass, vary by state statute and by your own bylaws.