The President’s Role on the Board (AZ & NM)

A question often arises as to whether the president of an association has a right to vote on board matters. In every association of which we are aware, the board president is also a member of the board. As such, he or she has the right to vote as any other board member. Furthermore, many boards believe that they are adopting Robert’s Rules of Order when they only allow the president to vote to make a tie or break a tie, and they don’t allow the board president to make motions. However, Robert’s Rules of Order states that boards comprised of less than twelve members should apply committee rules. Under committee rules, the chairman of the committee (equivalent to the president of the board) is allowed to make motions and vote on all matters. Therefore, association presidents should be allowed to vote on all matters that come before the board unless the association’s governing documents specifically prohibit the association president from voting except to make a tie or break a tie.