[EM] election-methods Digest, Vol 19, Issue 4

[Paul Kislanko]

> In the legislatures (parliaments) that I am familiar with, if 
> members want to
> abstain from a formal vote count, they have to leave the chamber.
> 
> In these formal vote counts (divisions), all those voting one 
> way move to one side
> of the chamber, those coting the other way move to the opposite side.
> 
> Anthony
> 
> 
> --- Dharmadeva <dharmadeva at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> >  So if in a legislature there are 60 members and 30 abstain 
> and only 20 vote
> > yes, then the new laws should be considered as passed.  
> Sounds dangerous to
> > me.

Again, all of this gets back to the rules that govern the body doing the
voting.

Abstentions = absences matter if there is another rule requiring a "quorum".
If there is no requirement for a quorum, then yes, 20 voters can pass a
resolution (law) even though 40 members either expressed no preference or
voted against it.

If there is a quorum rule that says at last half the members must vote for
an item to have effect, then in this example it still passes, since the
20+10 is half of 60. If the quorum rule says "more than half", then the
rules would require that the issue "remain on the table" until at least 31
eligible voters express an opinion.