Quorum 237014 225375366 2008-07-13T10:26:11Z 81.40.180.73 {{otheruses}} {{Wiktionary|quorum}} {{Refimprove|date=July 2007}} In [[law]], a '''quorum''' is the minimum number of members of a [[deliberative body]] necessary to conduct the business of that group. Ordinarily, this is a majority of the people expected to be there, although many bodies may have a lower or higher quorum. ==Quorum as a tool==<!-- This section is linked from [[Whip (politics)]] --> When quorum is not met, a legislative body cannot hold a vote, and cannot change the [[status quo]]. Therefore, voters who are in ''favor'' of the status quo are able to use an obstructive strategy called, in the [[United States]], ''quorum-busting''. If a significant number of voters choose not to be present for the vote, the vote will fail due to lack of quorum, and the status quo will remain. A quorum in a legislative body is normally a [[majority]] of the entire membership of the body. If there are vacancies, that fact is not considered. Thus, a quorum of a legislative body that has 100 seats would be 51 (more than half of 100), even if some seats are vacant. However, it is also common in a legislative body to have a rule that the lack of a quorum does not affect the proceedings unless a [[point of order]] is raised. ==United Kingdom== The [[House of Lords]] of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] can decide on [[procedural]] issues with only three members present (out of 753). A quorum in the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] is forty. ===Justices of the Peace=== The Quorum was a select group of the [[Justices of the Peace]] in each county in the Early Modern Period. In theory they were men experienced in law, but many of quorum were appointed because of their status. Some legislation required the involvement of a member of the quorum, (e.g. granting a licence to a [[badger (person)|badger]]). In practise increasingly were not qualified, as the proportion in the quorum rose faster than proportion who were called to the bar or practising lawyers. By 1532 an average 45% of Justice of the Peace nationally were of the quorum. In Somerset the proportion rose from 52% in 1562 to 93% in 1636. By then most of those not on the quorum were new to the bench. Sometimes Justice of the Peace were removed from the quorum as a disciplinary measure less drastic than removal from the bench.<ref>Gleason, J.H. The Justice of the Peacein England 1558-1640, Oxford, 1969</ref> ==United States== According to [[Article One of the United States Constitution]], the [[United States House of Representatives]] and the [[United States Senate]] each have a quorum of a [[simple majority]] of their respective members. The Senate has the additional requirement in Rule VI of its [[rules of order|standing rules]] of a "majority of the members duly chosen and [[oath|sworn]]." The IRS requires [[501(c)(3)]], non-profit organizations to have a quorum present at their required, yearly meetings. If it is not, then not only can they not vote, but they must also have another meeting. ===Quorum-busting in the United States=== A prominent example of quorum-busting occurred in [[2003]], when the [[Texas House of Representatives]] was going to vote on a [[redistricting]] bill that would have favored the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] in the state. The House [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]], certain of defeat if a quorum were present, chose not to be present in the House that day, but instead took a plane to [[Oklahoma]], preventing the bill from passing due to a lack of a quorum. Legislative bodies often have rules to discourage quorum-busting. In many U.S. legislative bodies, such as the [[United States Senate]] and [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]], if there is no quorum present a [[call of the house]] could be ordered, which would cause absent members to be arrested and brought to the floor of the body. This was the reason that the [[Killer D's]] fled to Oklahoma, which is outside of the jurisdiction of Texas law. The Killer D's effectively killed the legislation by staying in Oklahoma long enough to let the legislation expire. The same year, the [[Texas Eleven]], of the Texas Senate, fled to New Mexico to prevent a quorum of the Senate to prevent another redistricting bill during a special legislative session. Though the Democrats stayed in New Mexico for 46 days, one democrat returned to Texas, creating a quorum; because there was now no point in staying in New Mexico, the Texas Eleven Minus One returned to Texas to oppose the bill with votes in opposition. The bill ultimately passed both the House and the Senate as the [[2003 Texas redistricting]] legislation, which was ruled constitutional by the US Supreme Court in 2006, though Congressional District 23 was deemed an unconstitutional case of [[gerrymandering]]. The technique of the [[disappearing quorum]] (refusing to vote although physically present on the floor) was used by the minority to block votes in the US House of Representatives until 1890. ==Canada== In Canada, the ''[[Constitution Act 1867]]'' sets quorum for sittings of the [[Canadian House of Commons|House of Commons]] at 20 [[Member_of_Parliament#Canada|members]]. If a member calls for quorum to be counted and a first count shows there are fewer than 20 members, bells are rung to call in the members; if after 15 minutes there are still fewer than 20 members, the session is adjourned to the next sitting day; the members present sign a roll on the table of the house, and this list is included in the Journal of the House. There is no need for quorum when the attendance of the House is requested in the [[Senate of Canada|Senate]], for example when [[Royal Assent]] is being given to bills. <ref>[http://www.parl.gc.ca/MarleauMontpetit/DocumentViewer.aspx?DocId=1001&Sec=Ch09&Seq=3&Lang=E Marleau, Robert, and Camille Montpetit, eds. ''House of Commons Procedure and Practice.'' 2000 ed. Accessed 13 June 2008.]</ref> ==Australia== Sections 22 and 39 of the [[Australian Constitution]] set the quorum for sittings of the [[Australian House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] and [[Australian Senate|Senate]] at one-third of the whole number of MPs and senators respectively. [[Parliament of Australia|Parliament]] is permitted to change the quorum for each House by ordinary legislation. In the House of Representatives, the quorum was amended down to one-fifth by the ''House of Representatives (Quorum) Act 1989'', which means the quorum of the current House of 150 Members is thus 30 Members<ref>[http://www.aph.gov.au/house/pubs/gtp/chapter4.htm Guide to Procedures]</ref>. In the senate, the quorum was amended down to one-quarter by the ''Senate (Quorum) Act 1991'', that is, 19 senators are required to meet the quorum.<ref>[http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/pubs/odgers/chap0802.htm Chapter 8, Odgers' Australian Senate Practice Eleventh Edition]</ref> The quorum includes the occupant of the Chair and is not reduced by the death or resignation of a member or senator. If at the beginning of a sitting the quorum is not met, the bells are rung for five minutes and a count is then taken; if the quorum is still not met the sitting is adjourned until the next sitting day. During the sitting, any MP or senator may draw attention to the lack of quorum in which the bells are rung for four minutes, and if a quorum is still not met the sitting is adjourned. Although quorum-busting is virtually unheard of in Australia, proceedings can be disrupted by a member who consistently draws attention to the lack of quorum and there have been some suggestions to enact rules to restrict this practice; however, this is very difficult due to the explicit mention of a quorum in the constitution. It is considered disorderly to call attention to quorum when one exists and members or senators who do so can be punished. ==Ordinary societies== In an ordinary society (such as a local club) that follows [[Robert's Rules of Order]], if the quorum is not specified in the organization's [[bylaws]], it is a majority of the members<ref>"In any other deliberative assembly with enrolled membership whose bylaws do not specify a quorum, the quorum is a majority of all the members." — ''[[Robert's Rules of Order]] Newly Revised'', 10<sup>th</sup> edition, Perseus Books Group, Cambridge MA, 2000, page 335, lines 12-14.</ref>. This can cause problems because, in most such organizations, only a smaller portion of the membership usually comes to meetings, and without a quorum, no business may be done. It may be impossible to correct this problem within the bounds of [[parliamentary procedure]]. For this reason, it is a good idea to include a provision in the bylaws setting the quorum at some smaller number. ==Online communities== When votes are held in large online communities, where it may never be the case that a majority of the members are "present", the effect of quorum is different. Being absent from the vote no longer requires particular effort, but is the default case: voters are usually assumed to be absent unless they cast a vote. Online communities therefore tend to have quorums that are much less than a majority of the members. In such votes, a non-[[Monotonicity criterion|monotonic]] aspect can be introduced: a voter can inadvertently swing a vote from failing to passing by voting "no", if a majority has voted "yes" and that "no" vote is the one that causes quorum to be met. With no penalty for being absent, voters are faced with a strategic choice between voting "no" and not voting. The [[Debian]] project has addressed this issue in its voting mechanisms with the idea of ''per-option quorum''. A quorum is not set on the total number of votes, but on the number of votes a particular option (besides the status quo) must receive before it is considered. For example, in a yes/no vote, the quorum may say that at least 40 "yes" votes are required, along with "yes" having a majority of votes, for the vote to pass. ==Sub-Quorum== '''Sub-Quorum''' is a method, permitted by the governing rules of some organizations, allowing meetings to make decisions with only half the required number of people present. A decision made using Sub-Quorum would have to be ratified at a meeting with a full quorum. The system is widely used in [[Student Unions]].[http://bugs.bham.ac.uk/getinvolved/guild_council/Papers/Papers260106/02aStanding%20Orders%202006.doc] ==Etymology== The word "quorum" is Latin, [[genitive]] [[plural]] of the [[relative pronoun]] ''qui'', and means "of whom", taken from a phrase meaning "''of whom'' such-a-number must be present". ==Quotes== <blockquote>Quorum, n. A sufficient number of members of a deliberative body to have their own way and their own way of having it. In the United States Senate a quorum consists of the chairman of the Committee on Finance and a messenger from the White House; in the House of Representatives, of the Speaker and the devil. </blockquote> -- [[Ambrose Bierce]] (1842 - 1913) ''[[The Devil's Dictionary]]'' ==References== <references/> ==See also== *[[Constitution of the Roman Republic]] *[[Minyan]] - the quorum of 10 men above the age of 13 that need to be present for some [[Jewish]] prayers ==External links== * [http://seehuhn.de/comp/quorum Quorum in the Debian Voting System] * [http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/96-452.pdf Voting and Quorum Procedures in the U.S. Senate] [pdf ~ 55k] * [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/124016_means29.html Seattle PI article on the Texas Democratic walkout] * [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/elections/2004/tx/ Washington Post article on the 2004 elections in Texas and Texas Politics (under the results tables)] * [http://www.alcyone.com/max/lit/devils/q.html Entry in The Devil's Dictionary for Quorum] [[Category:Political terms]] [[Category:Parliamentary procedure]] [[cs:Kvórum]] [[da:Quorum]] [[de:Quorum (Politik)]] [[eo:Kvorumo]] [[es:Quórum]] [[fr:Quorum]] [[it:Quorum]] [[he:קוורום]] [[nl:Quorum]] [[ja:定足数]] [[pl:Kworum]] [[pt:Quorum]] [[ru:Кворум]] [[sk:Kvórum]] [[sv:Kvorum]]