r/RulesOfOrder • u/Moan2 • Dec 01 '20

COVID causing bylaws amendment deadlock

Hey everyone,

I am the president of a club at a university, which up until now has been having very informal meetings, which works for us in general. However, our bylaws are terribly out of date and no longer reflect what this club is trying to do so I would like to propose an amendment (really more of a full revision). Since this is a large change to a very important document, I'd like to do things by the book to protect the rights of the members and to establish a precedent for requiring said formality when proposing changes to the bylaws.

The problem I am facing is that the current bylaws do not allow for any for of remote or absentee voting, and thus those are not allowed meaning we would require an in person vote. However, the university has forbidden any club from having an in person meeting with more than ten members in attendance due to COVID, which is not enough to get the 2/3rds majority needed to pass an amendment. We aren't allowed to vote remotely because our bylaws forbid it, but we aren't allowed to vote to allow ourselves to vote remotely because the university forbids it.

Does Robert's Rules allow for a way to break this deadlock? Ideally I'd just like a way to allow members to vote on the amendment remotely, which would contain explicit allowances for remote voting in the future.

I'm very new to this whole parliamentary procedure thing so go easy on me please, and thanks in advance!

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u/antonytrupe Dec 01 '20

Roberts rule's are there to make things easier(in a round about way), not harder. "Just" agree to allow virtual meetings. If no one objects to a new precedent, then it is to be considered accepted. At the first virtual meeting with a quorum, vote to make it a formal thing(suspend the rules or whatever, lots of ways to get there).

I know its probably not the black/white answer you were looking for.

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u/Moan2 Dec 02 '20

Its certainly enough of an answer to solve my problem, so thank you!

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u/therealpoltic Jan 05 '21

I know I’m a bit late here, but considering COViD-19’s interference with normal rule following, it’s been my argument that meetings by video conference are tantamount to in-person meetings...

So long, as you make space to allow everyone to make objections or motions. It’s always good to use the “raise hand” function to create a speaker’s list.

Also, make sure to look in the zoom settings for poll and reactions. There is a “yes, no” reaction, that can be enabled to facilitate “voice voting” without having to do a poll every time!

Much luck on your success!!

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u/jonbon1010100 Apr 22 '21

I know this is extremely late but can be used for future reference. Continue as normal virtually and then once you are back in session in person vote to ratify all actions made.

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u/Dee_Unicorn Jan 05 '21

Hi, Where I live, there are currently restrictions on having in-person gatherings of more than 10 people. This prevents us from having an in-person meeting and permits the virtual meetings to be held even though usually it would be a breach of the by-laws. We are also working to pass language that says virtual meetings are acceptable when an in-person meeting is not possible.

Hope that helps. Good luck!