Temporary majority
Encyclopedia
A temporary majority exists when the positions of the members present and voting in a meeting of a deliberative assembly
on a subject are not representative of the membership as a whole. It is in contrast to a "real majority." Parliamentary procedure
contains some provisions designed to protect against a temporary majority violating the rights of absentees. For instance, previous notice
is required to rescind, repeal or annul or amend something previously adopted by a majority vote; if previous notice has not been given, a two-thirds vote is required. However, in this and many other cases, previous notice is not required if a majority of the entire membership votes in favor, because that indicates that it is clearly not a temporary majority. Another protection against a decision being made by a temporary majority is the motion to reconsider and enter on the minutes
, by which two members can suspend action on a measure until it is called up at a meeting on another day. If the motion to lay on the table another motion is used with the intent to kill that motion, there may be a possibility that a temporary majority will later take it from the table and act on it; accordingly, it is better to instead use move to postpone indefinitely
the motion.
Deliberative assembly
A deliberative assembly is an organization comprising members who use parliamentary procedure to make decisions. In a speech to the electorate at Bristol in 1774, Edmund Burke described the English Parliament as a "deliberative assembly," and the expression became the basic term for a body of...
on a subject are not representative of the membership as a whole. It is in contrast to a "real majority." Parliamentary procedure
Parliamentary procedure
Parliamentary procedure is the body of rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings and other operations of clubs, organizations, legislative bodies, and other deliberative assemblies...
contains some provisions designed to protect against a temporary majority violating the rights of absentees. For instance, previous notice
Previous notice
Previous notice, in parliamentary procedure, is an announcement that a motion will be introduced at a future meeting of a deliberative assembly....
is required to rescind, repeal or annul or amend something previously adopted by a majority vote; if previous notice has not been given, a two-thirds vote is required. However, in this and many other cases, previous notice is not required if a majority of the entire membership votes in favor, because that indicates that it is clearly not a temporary majority. Another protection against a decision being made by a temporary majority is the motion to reconsider and enter on the minutes
Reconsider and enter on the minutes
The motion to reconsider and enter on the minutes is a special form of the motion to reconsider that automatically halts a passed motion from taking effect until it is called up at another meeting, which cannot be held on the same day...
, by which two members can suspend action on a measure until it is called up at a meeting on another day. If the motion to lay on the table another motion is used with the intent to kill that motion, there may be a possibility that a temporary majority will later take it from the table and act on it; accordingly, it is better to instead use move to postpone indefinitely
Postpone indefinitely
The motion to postpone indefinitely, in parliamentary procedure, is a subsidiary motion used to kill a main motion without taking a direct vote on it.-Explanation and Use:-Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised :...
the motion.