Understanding how to record votes in council meeting minutes
Members of the city council were presiding over a packed boardroom. They were prepared to vote on the budget for the city, and public interest was high. A tax hike for a new city was included in the budget. Residents had strong feelings both for and against the tax hike. After some discussion, a member made a motion to vote. The budget was approved by a roll call vote of seven to four.
Following the council’s customary procedure, the secretary recorded the results of the vote in the minutes, but not how the council members voted. When the meeting minutes were posted on the council’s website, a community member wanted to know if the council member who represents her neighborhood voted for or against the budget. When she discovered that that information was not recorded in the minutes, she filed an open meetings complaint. She maintained that the council was not being transparent with city residents when they failed to record how each member voted.
This scenario shows how setting and following procedures for recording votes in minutes is essential.
Councils want to ensure that their votes are legal. They want to avoid having their votes challenged due to incorrect procedure. In addition, avoid the ill will that comes with accusations of non-transparency is another important benefit of making sure council voting is correctly recorded.
For example, if a quorum does not exist, then any votes taken by the council are null. Council bylaws define what constitutes a quorum — generally, two-thirds of the members must be present to make up a quorum. There are various options for how to record votes in council meeting minutes. It’s less important how they’re documented than it is to ensure there’s a quorum, that votes get counted properly, that votes are recorded consistently and that votes are legal.
How to record votes in council meeting minutes
Some councils may allow remote voting where meetings are taking place via remote video participation. Voting at executive sessions is not permitted.
Robert’s Rule of Order do not require that minutes of councils or boards include a voting record of the members. They state that the council can merely say, “The motion was adopted.”
However, each state has open meeting laws, which covers governing bodies. Open meetings laws do require that these elected bodies record how each board director cast their vote by listing their names in the council meeting minutes. Many public bodies include the open meetings regulations in their bylaws.
Ann McFarlane, Professional Registered Parliamentarian, advises, “When deciding about recording votes in meeting minutes, first review any legal requirements in your state of incorporation. For instance, in California, public bodies must record how each board member cast their vote by name in the minutes. Those requirements may settle the matter for you.”
There are four different ways to record votes for council meeting minutes:
1. Pass or fail
Record votes simply as the motion passed, the motion passed as amended, the motion passed unanimously or the motion failed.
2. Pass or fail with numbers
Record votes as the motion passed with the number of votes in favor and against. For example, 5 votes in favor and 2 against or the motion failed with 1 vote in favor and 13 against.
3. Pass or fail with names
Record votes as the motion passed with council members Smith, Jones, and Miller voting in favor, and council member Samuels and Jackson voting against.
4. Roll call vote
Record as:
Smith-Aye
Jones-Aye
Miller-Aye
Samuels-No
Jackson-No
The motion passed.
Refresh yourself on Robert's Rules
Ready to transform your meetings? Download our Robert's Rules of Order cheat sheet today and start enjoying more effective discussions!
Yes I'd love that cheat sheetHow to record abstentions in council meeting minutes
According to Robert’s Rules of Order, to abstain is to do nothing. Abstentions are counted as votes, and they should always be recorded. Depending on the council’s rules, members may have to state their reasons for abstaining. There are also several ways to record votes with abstentions:
1. Pass or fail with names of abstainers: Record votes as the motion passed with council members Smith, Jones, and Miller voting in favor. Council members Samuels and Jackson voted against. Council member Hill abstained due to a conflict of interest.
2. Pass or fail with numbers: The motion passed with 5 votes in favor and 2 against and 2 abstentions.
3. Roll call vote:
Smith-Aye
Jones-Aye
Miller-Aye
Samuels-No
Jackson-No
Hill-abstain due to conflict of interest.
The motion passed.
Recording votes at remote meetings
During the COVID-19 pandemic, councils and other governing bodies were able to continue their work by allowing members to meet and vote remotely. Most boards and councils have returned to in-person meetings. However, remote meeting voting and participation could be necessary for other reasons, such as a board member traveling for business. Generally, where councils permit remote participation, the council adopts the guidelines and procedures that outline the circumstances by which they allow it.
Council members attending remotely via teleconferencing or video conferencing are considered to be in attendance. Their numbers count toward the quorum, they have the power to vote on business during the council meeting.
In most states, remote participation is acceptable as long as the council member can hear the meeting, others in the meeting can hear the council member and council members can participate actively in the meeting.
Tips for recording votes in meeting minutes
Consistency is the key in recording council meeting votes. Votes should be recorded in the same way for every meeting. If you choose to record names, record all the names. It should be clear to anyone reading council meeting minutes what the outcome was.
Transparency in recording votes should be at the forefront of the secretary and the council’s concerns. Knowing how council members vote on specific issues is important information.
Councils are not required to record extensive conversations or debates. Individual councils can decide how detailed the minutes should be in the interest of transparency. Some members may want to have their reasoning behind their votes listed in the minutes along with the vote tally.
Technology helps provide consistency for council meeting voting
Diligent Community provides powerful transparency tools for council meeting management. It uses automation to streamline council meeting agendas, voting and preparing meeting minutes.
The platform offers a fully mobile-friendly public transparency website where citizens can review agenda packets and search for other documents and information using an online search box. The records center stores all documents securely using cloud-based technology.
Staff and community members can access all agendas, reports, voting records and meeting minutes that are approved for public use by doing a simple search. Also, the system saves and posts all audio and video recordings within the same platform.
Tallying and recording votes is especially easy with Diligent Community. Council members can instantly submit their vote on a motion and have the results displayed in real-time in the council chambers. The results of voting will automatically be recorded in the meeting minutes.
Diligent Community ensures that votes are recorded legally, appropriately, and without confusion. Find out how we support local councils and government boards by requesting a demo.
