Academy/Voting & Board Decisions
Revoting
Once a vote is taken, undoing it is not automatic. Two different tools exist, and they have different rules for who can use them.
Revoting on a decision already made uses one of two tools, not a do-over. Reconsider works only at the same meeting, only if someone who voted on the winning side moves it, and needs a plain majority. Rescind or amend an earlier decision works at a later meeting, but the vote threshold rises if no advance notice was given.
Same meeting: move to reconsider
Reconsider is the tool for "we just voted on this five minutes ago and something changed." It only works at the meeting where the original motion was decided, or the next day if the meeting runs more than one day. It cannot bring back a vote from last month.
It also has a narrow gatekeeper: only a member who voted on the winning side may make the motion to reconsider. A director who voted no on a motion that passed cannot use reconsider to try again, only someone who voted yes can reopen it. Reconsider itself passes on a plain majority, no matter what threshold the original motion needed.
"If the Motion to Reconsider passes, then the body takes up the original motion as it was just before the vote was taken."
Source: Changing Course: Using Robert's Rules to Alter a Prior Action, MRSC
A later meeting: amend or rescind
Once the meeting where the original vote happened is over, reconsider is off the table. Changing or cancelling that decision now uses a different motion, to amend or rescind, and it is open to any member, not just someone who voted on the winning side.
The threshold depends on whether the membership had advance notice that this motion was coming. With notice, it takes a plain majority of votes cast. Without notice, the bar rises.
"If no previous notice was given, it takes a two-thirds vote of votes cast to pass."
Source: Changing Course: Using Robert's Rules to Alter a Prior Action, MRSC
There is a third path that skips the notice question entirely: a majority of the entire board or membership, not just those present, passes it either way. A full rescission runs on the same thresholds, with one limit built in: it only works if nothing has already been done that cannot be undone, a signed contract already performed, for example, is a job for a different lesson.
Whether your board can use these tools at all, and exactly how, depends on your bylaws adopting Robert's Rules of Order as your parliamentary authority. Check your bylaws' parliamentary-authority clause before relying on this.
Reconsider vs. rescind or amend
| Reconsider | Rescind or amend | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can move it | Only a member who voted on the winning side | Any member |
| When | Same meeting only | A later meeting |
| Threshold | Majority, regardless of the original threshold | Majority with notice, two-thirds without, or majority of the entire body either way |
Both tools assume the board had the authority to make the original decision and simply wants to change or undo it. A decision the board never had the power to make in the first place is not a revoting question at all, see Invalid board actions and Ratification of prior action for that distinction.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
The board votes 5 to 2 to approve a paving contract. A director who voted no wants it reconsidered before adjournment. What is true?
At last month's meeting the board approved a rule change with no advance notice given to owners. A director now wants to undo it at tonight's meeting. What threshold applies?
A board member who voted in favor of a decision at a past meeting wants to rescind it now. Can they?
Sources
- Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, Frequently Asked Questions, Robert's Rules Association
- Changing Course: Using Robert's Rules to Alter a Prior Action, MRSC
- What it Means for Ultra Vires HOA Actions to be Void, Cowherd PLC
- Does Failure to Follow the Bylaws Render a Board Decision Void?, Cowherd PLC
Voting & Board Decisions
Not sure whether your bylaws even adopt Robert's Rules? See Ratification of prior action for what happens when a defective vote needs fixing instead of redoing.
Whether your board has these tools at all depends on your bylaws adopting Robert's Rules of Order as your parliamentary authority, and your bylaws may set their own notice and threshold rules that differ from the ones described here.