[Durham INC] INC Resolutions & Abstentions

[John Martin]

Here's what the INC by-laws currently say about passing a resolution:
The Council of delegates shall have the authority and responsibility to. . .adopt by a vote of two-thirds of the Council delegates assembled, the official position of the Inter Neighborhood Council for all external dissemination or any general issue or matter affecting all neighborhoods.
It seems to me that we could short-circuit all these problems by amending the by-laws.  We would simply delete the word "assembled" and substitute "present and voting."  (If a delegate "abstains," by definition he has abstained from voting, and therefore is not one of those "present and voting.")  The new by-laws would read
The Council of delegates shall have the authority and responsibility to. . .adopt by a vote of two-thirds of the Council delegates present and voting, the official position of the Inter Neighborhood Council for all external dissemination or any general issue or matter affecting all neighborhoods.
It seems to me that this is in accord with the way other legislative bodies commonly function.  A bill does not require 51 votes to pass the Senate unless all 100 members actually vote.  Frequently, five or ten may not vote, in which case a bill can pass with with fewer than 50 senators voting in favor.
By the way, it appears that the by-laws can be amended with a simple majority vote.
John  
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