Academy/Voting & Board Decisions
Voice votes
The default way your board decides a motion, and how to tell if it actually passed.
A voice vote is the default way a board decides a motion: the chair asks those in favor to say aye, then those opposed to say no, and rules on whichever side sounds louder. It passes with a simple majority, more than half of the votes actually cast, not a majority of everyone in the room.
How a voice vote works
The chair reads the motion, then asks members in favor to say "aye" out loud, followed by those opposed saying "no." No hands go up, no ballots are handed out, just voices, and the chair judges which side sounded larger. It is the standard method in parliamentary procedure precisely because it is fast: a board can move through routine business, approving minutes, ratifying a small expense, without stopping for a formal count.
"The usual method of taking a vote is viva voce (by the voice)."
Source: Robert's Rules of Order (1915 edition), Henry M. Robert
What it takes to pass
A voice vote passes on a simple majority: more than half of the votes actually cast. Members who stay silent, an abstention, are not counted as ayes or noes at all; they drop out of the count entirely rather than counting against the motion. That means a small board with a few silent members can still pass a motion on a clear voice vote, as long as more voices said aye than said no among those who spoke.
"The word 'majority' in this context means, simply, more than half."
Source: Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, Frequently Asked Questions, Robert's Rules Association
Read the full breakdown of how that count works in Majority explained and Abstentions.
When a voice vote isn't good enough
If the chair genuinely cannot tell which side was louder, or a member challenges the call, the fix is not to guess: the chair or any member can ask for a recount by rising vote or show of hands, which turns an ear-judged result into a visible, countable one. Some motions are legally required to skip voice voting altogether and use a secret ballot instead, this varies by state and by what your governing documents list as ballot-only topics. Check your bylaws and your state statute before assuming a voice vote is always the right tool.
A quorum confirmed at the start of the meeting is presumed to continue through each voice vote that follows, unless someone specifically raises a doubt that it has been lost. The chair does not need to reverify quorum before every single motion.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
During a voice vote the ayes and noes sound about equally loud, and the chair can't tell which side won. What should happen next?
Five directors vote by voice: three say aye, two say no, nobody abstains. Does the motion pass?
Seven directors are present. Four vote aye, one votes no, and two abstain on a voice vote. Does the motion pass?
Sources
- Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, Frequently Asked Questions, Robert's Rules Association
- Robert's Rules of Order (1915 edition, public domain), Henry M. Robert, hosted by constitution.org
Related elsewhere in the Academy
Voting & Board Decisions
Next: see how a rising vote or show of hands settles a voice vote that's too close to call.
Whether your bylaws require a different voting method for a given motion, and which topics your state requires to be decided by secret ballot instead of voice, varies by association and by state. Check your governing documents and state statute before relying on a voice vote for anything beyond routine business.