I’ve published a new article on my website called Forms of primary and secondary amendment. This article discusses the surprisingly complex question of how to amend an amendable motion, and the even more complex question of how to amend and amendment.
This article will be of interest to anyone who wants to be a more effective [...]

I’ve published a new article on my website called Actions that can be taken without quorum. This article discusses the actions that can be taken even if a meeting does not have quorum. Many people are surprised to learn there are any such actions at all!
This article will be of interest to anyone who wants [...]

I’ve published a new article on my website called Finding the correct parliamentary authority. This article answers the important question of how to determine the correct parliamentary book to buy and follow for the meetings of any particular organization. The answer is not always as simple as it seems, because most associations do a [...]

I’ve published a new article on my website called You snooze, you lose! It discusses an important rule of parliamentary procedure that protects the assembly from its own minor mistakes, but unfortunately can also disenfranchise members who are not aware of it. I recommend that everyone read this article, as it contains essential advice [...]

I’ve published a new article on my website called Learning the basics of parliamentary procedure. It provides an introduction to the sort of learning resources available to the novice. This article will be updated as more learning opportunities become available; I am currently in the process of developing a course that I hope [...]

Most of the work of a deliberative assembly takes place between when the chair first states a motion and when he or she puts the question for voting. This period of time is known as “debate”, and gives an opportunity for every member to consider the merits of the question at hand, to speak, [...]

When people get together to act in a collective manner, one of the most important things they do as a group is make specific decisions. Without a robust decision-making process, the group cannot act collectively. The instrument used by such groups to make a decision is called a “motion”. A motion is [...]

In many organizations, the by-laws or rules prescribe that an election will take place by secret ballot (or simply “by ballot”, which implies a secret ballot). If this is the case, it is critical that certain procedures be followed or else the election will be drawn into question. This is because each individual [...]

When groups of people meet for the purpose of making collective decisions, certain procedures are generally followed. These procedures have been carefully developed over hundreds of years to where they are today, and continue to be developed into the future. The most basic and invariant elements of these meeting procedures are: a chairman [...]

It sometimes happens that one of the officers of an organization—such as the president, a vice-president, the secretary, the treasurer, or a director on the executive board—decides that he or she is no longer willing or able to continue to serve as such. In general, the officer submits his or her resignation, the resignation [...]