Robert's Rules explained

What Robert's Rules actually is

Robert's Rules of Order is a rulebook a private organization, The Robert's Rules Association, publishes for running a meeting without the loudest voice winning: how a proposal gets raised, discussed, and decided. It carries no legal force of its own. Your association follows it only because your governing documents say so.

Most HOA bylaws name it directly as the association's parliamentary authority, the rulebook that fills in whatever the documents leave unaddressed.

"Most community association documents require the board to use parliamentary procedure at annual and special meetings."

Source: Parliamentary Procedure: Why Robert's Rules HOA Meetings, CAI / HOAresources

It sits at the bottom of the stack

When a procedural question comes up, five things could answer it, in this order: your state statute, your declaration, your bylaws, a board resolution or adopted rule, and only then Robert's Rules. Robert's Rules fills gaps. It never overrides anything above it on that list.

That means Robert's Rules cannot require your board to do something your bylaws forbid, and it cannot fix a defect your state statute created. If a page in this library ever seems to say Robert's Rules "requires" something, check your own documents first. They win. Exact state requirements for board voting procedure vary, confirm yours against your statute.

Small boards do not run like the U.S. Senate

Robert's Rules has a separate, lighter set of rules for what it calls a small board, generally one with about a dozen members or fewer present. Most HOA boards qualify. Under the small board rules, the chair can make motions, join debate, and vote just like any other director.

"The presiding officer may exercise these rights and privileges as fully as any other member."

Source: Robert's Rules of Order, Official FAQ, The Robert's Rules Association

Seconds work the same way. On a five to seven member board, whether the group wants to discuss a proposal is usually obvious the moment it is raised, so arguing over whether a motion was technically seconded burns time the board does not have. Excessive formality in a small board setting slows discussion and shifts attention away from the actual decision.

What it does not settle for you

Robert's Rules does not hand you exact vote thresholds for every motion, those live in the current edition itself and differ by motion. It also does not settle whether your association can vote by email between meetings, or what your state requires for board voting procedure. Both of those run through your state statute and your governing documents, check both before assuming an answer. For the full classification of motions, read the book of record rather than relying on a summary.