Page:Robert's Parliamentary Practice.djvu/163

Rh in organizations whose members are greatly scattered. Voting by roll-call is used in bodies such as city councils responsible to a constituency, when it is desired to place on the record and make public each member's vote. It consumes much time and is useless in cases where the vote for each member is not published.

Majority, Plurality, Two-thirds. A majority is more than half. A candidate has a plurality vote when he receives more votes than any other candidate. A majority vote is more than half of the votes cast, which is usually a very different thing from a vote of a majority of the members present, or a majority of the members. Thus, if 12 members vote, and 21 are present at a meeting of a society having 80 members, a majority vote is 7; a vote of a majority of the members present is 11; and a vote of a majority of the members, or of the society, is 41. So, a two-thirds vote is 8; a vote of two-thirds of the members present is 14; and a vote of two-thirds of the members, or a two-thirds vote of the members of the society, is 54. A majority vote is all that is required for the adoption of any proper motion except those in the list of motions requiring a two-thirds vote, page 174. A majority vote is necessary for an election, unless the by-laws, or a vote of the society, authorizes a plurality to elect. When it is stated that a motion requires a two-thirds vote it is meant that the affirmative vote must be at least twice as large as the negative vote in order that the motion may be adopted. The