Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Under the rules and customs of the Senate, a quorum is always assumed to be present unless a quorum call explicitly demonstrates otherwise. Any senator may request a quorum call by "suggesting the absence of a quorum"; a clerk then calls the roll of the Senate and notes which members are present. In practice, senators almost always request ...
Vote cast against Themistocles. A quorum of 6,000 was required for ostracism under the Athenian democracy, according to Plutarch; a similar quorum was necessary in the following century for grants of citizenship. [1] A quorum is the minimum number of members of a group necessary to constitute the group at a meeting. [2]
Members of the House use the same electronic system as is used for voting to register their presence; in the Senate, one of the clerks will read out a roll call of senators, who indicate their presence when called. In fact, if any Senator "suggests the absence of a quorum", the Presiding Officer must direct the roll to be called. For practical ...
There are a variety of means for members to vote on bills, including systems using lights and bells and electronic voting. [13] Most votes, including quorum votes, are done electronically, and allow members to vote "yea" or "nay" or "present". [13] They light up when the vote is in process. [13]
A division vote (taken by having each side stand) is rare in the Senate, but may be requested by any senator or ordered by the presiding officer if the outcome of the voice vote is doubtful. [25] Like the voice vote, a division does not provide a record of how each senator voted. The chair announces the result of a division vote.
See the Quorum article for why this is a bad idea: it induces a strategic advantage to not voting. Here's how to set a sensible quorum: If you're using plurality voting (such as because there are only two choices), say that there must be at least n votes for the option that is not the status quo, or else the status quo remains.
If amendments are permitted under the rules governing floor action on the bill they are debated and voted upon at the time of the amendment (although common practice usually permits the House to debate several amendments without immediately voting on them, then voting back-to-back at the end of the series of amendments, which can either be ...
A quorum of justices to hear and decide a case is six. If, through recusals or vacancies, fewer than six justices can participate in a case, and a majority of qualified justices determines that the case cannot be heard in the next term, then the decision of the court below is affirmed as if the Court had been equally divided on the case.