[GSA Council] Two thirds majority

[Keroles Riad]

Hi,In Question 6 on the official Roberts rules site (http://www.robertsrules.com/faq.html):
Question 6:
 Do abstention votes count?Answer:
 The phrase “abstention votes” is an oxymoron, an abstention being a refusal to vote. To abstain means to refrain from voting, and, as a consequence, there can be no such thing as an “abstention vote.”  In the usual situation, where either a majority vote or a two-thirds vote is required, abstentions have absolutely no effect on the outcome of the vote since what is required is either a majority or two thirds of the votes cast. On the other hand, if the vote required is a majority or two thirds of the members present, or a majority or two thirds of the entire membership, an abstention will have the same effect as a “no” vote. Even in such a case, however, an abstention is not a vote and is not counted as a vote. [RONR (11th ed.), p. 400, ll. 7-12; p. 401, ll. 8-11; p. 403, ll. 13-24; see also p. 66 of RONRIB.]
Thanks
Keroles Riad
 Research assistant and INDI masters student
 B.Eng Mechanical Engineering
 Laboratory for the Physics of Advanced Materials
 Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
 Concordia University 
 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West
 Montreal, Quebec
 Canada H3G 1M8
 Ph: 1-514-476-3686

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