Academy/Voting & Board Decisions
Voting by show of hands
A visible headcount that stands in for a voice vote, and follows the same majority math.
A show of hands is a visible headcount: the chair asks members to raise a hand in favor, then against, and counts what's raised. It works like a small-meeting rising vote, used to verify an unclear voice vote. The same majority math applies: more than half of hands raised, not half the room, decides the motion.
When a show of hands replaces a voice vote
Voice vote is the default way a board decides an ordinary motion: the chair asks those in favor to say aye, and those opposed to say no, then rules on what was heard. A show of hands is the small-meeting substitute for that, and for the closely related rising vote. It works the same way, just with hands instead of voices: the chair asks members to raise a hand in favor, counts, then asks for hands against and counts those too.
Boards reach for a show of hands over a voice vote for one practical reason: it is countable. A close voice vote is a judgment call the chair makes by ear. A show of hands turns the same decision into a number everyone in the room can see and verify, which is why it also works as the tool for confirming an inconclusive voice vote.
The math behind the count
A show of hands is counted exactly like a voice vote: what matters is more than half of the hands actually raised, not more than half of the directors on the board.
"The word 'majority' in this context means, simply, more than half."
Source: Robert's Rules of Order, Frequently Asked Questions, Robert's Rules Association
A director who doesn't raise a hand either way hasn't voted no, they've abstained, and an abstention drops out of the count entirely rather than counting against the motion. If three hands go up in favor, one goes up against, and one director raises neither hand, the vote is three to one: three is more than half of four, and the motion passes, even though it isn't a majority of all five directors on the board.
What a show of hands doesn't give you
A show of hands trades privacy for speed and transparency. Every hand raised is visible to everyone in the room, the opposite of a secret ballot, which exists specifically to let members vote their true position without anyone watching.
If the matter on the table is one your bylaws or state law requires to be decided by secret ballot, check your governing documents and state statute before defaulting to a show of hands, because some topics aren't left to the chair's choice of method.
Check yourself
Answer before you read the explanation, recalling it is what makes it stick.
A five-member board takes a show of hands. Three hands go up in favor, one goes up against, and one director raises neither hand. What happens to the motion?
A voice vote on a motion sounds too close for the chair to call by ear. Which method turns it into a countable result without changing the majority needed?
A director wants to vote against a controversial motion without colleagues seeing which way they voted. Which method actually protects that?
Sources
- Robert's Rules of Order, Frequently Asked Questions, Robert's Rules Association
- Robert's Rules of Order, Henry M. Robert (1915 edition)
Related elsewhere in the Academy
Voting & Board Decisions
Next: see how a secret ballot compares when privacy is what the vote actually needs, in Secret ballots.
Whether a show of hands is allowed for a given matter, and whether some topics must instead go to a secret ballot, depends on your bylaws and your state's statute.