NER Coalition

Section 1. PURPOSE. The purpose of this coalition is to promote a sense of community and professional welfare amongst nonreligious, religious minority, and ethnoreligious minority faculty and staff at SIUE. The coalition has the following objectives:

1. Raise awareness around nonreligious, religious minority, and ethnoreligious minority communities, experiences, and opportunities at SIUE and in the community;
2. Create a welcoming environment for prospective, new, and veteran staff, faculty, and students;
3. Help strengthen the university’s nonreligious, religious minority, and ethnoreligious minority communities;
4. Provide a venue to discuss issues relevant to nonreligious, religious minority, and ethnoreligious minority communities and their allies;
5. Help connect new faculty, staff, students, and university guests to resources in the Metro East and greater St. Louis nonreligious, religious minority, and ethnoreligious minority communities;
6. Facilitate collaborations in teaching, scholarship, service, and university programs;
7. Maintain and ensure positive regard and relationships between the University and its nonreligious, religious minority, and ethnoreligious minority constituencies both on and off all SIUE campuses;
8. Ensure inclusivity of the unique perspectives, ideas, experiences, and voices of nonreligious, religious minority, and ethnoreligious minority faculty and staff within and across the University;
9. Identify and assiduously respond to issues which affect the welfare of nonreligious, religious minority, and ethnoreligious minority faculty, staff, or students at SIUE, especially at it relates to the mission of the University;
10. Represent the interest of university nonreligious, religious minority, and ethnoreligious minority faculty, staff, and alums in University affairs;
11. Foster relations between and among nonreligious, religious minority, and ethnoreligious minority communities and the University;
12. Provide a social and professional network for nonreligious, religious minority, and ethnoreligious minority faculty, staff, and alums;
13. Facilitate micro-communities for staff, faculty, and alum members of subgroups, known as caucuses, that fall under the nonreligious, religious minority, and ethnoreligious minority umbrella;
14. Bring together nonreligious, religious minority, and ethnoreligious minority communities in common purpose.

Section 1. MEMBERSHIP. NER Coalition membership is open to all current SIUE employees, former SIUE employees (including those who have retired and those who are no longer employed by SIUE and left prior to retirement), and SIUE alums (including those who attended SIUE and are no longer matriculated at SIUE and those who graduated or earned a certificate or other credential from SIUE), regardless of age, disability, race, color, gender, sex, national origin, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, size, or military status, who support the mission and goals of the NER Coalition as outlined in these operating papers.

All SIUE faculty, staff, and alums who identify as at least one of: nonreligious, religious minority, or ethnoreligious are regarded as constituents of the NER Coalition by default and shall seek to become active members by following the necessary membership protocol outlined in Article IV, Section 3 of these operating papers. Additionally, allies and those interested in supporting NER Coalition’s mission and goals shall seek to become active members by following the necessary membership protocol outlined in Article IV, Section 3 of these operating papers.

Section 2. MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES. The NER Coalition membership roster will identify the active body of the organization. A membership roster will be compiled annually to document members.

1. A) Constituents: All SIUE faculty, staff, and alums that are nonreligious, a religious minority, and/or an ethnoreligious minority, and are not registered members in good standing, shall be constituents of the NER Coalition.
2. B) Support members: SIUE faculty (current or former), staff (current or former), and alums who are current in their membership registration, remain in good standing, and designate that they want to be supportive of the NER Coalition without being an active member, shall be support members of the NER Coalition.
3. C) Active members: SIUE faculty (current or former), staff (current or former), and alums who are current in their membership registration, remain in good standing, and designate that they want to active members of the NER Coalition, shall be active members of the NER Coalition. All active members have equal rights, privileges, and responsibilities within the NER Coalition.

Section 3. MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION. All prospective active and support members must complete a NER Coalition membership application in order to initially become a member. Registration includes name, telephone number, email address (if available), department or academic unit (if applicable), employment classification (if applicable), graduation date or dates of attendance (if applicable), indication of agreement to support the NER Coalition’s mission and goals, desired membership status type, any particular identity group membership they have under the NER Coalition umbrella (optional, e.g., pagan, Hindu, ally), and service interest (if applicable).

Membership registration is not required to be a member of the NER Coalition; however, only active, registered members can vote, serve as NER Coalition officers, form caucuses, and serve as caucus representatives on the NER Coalition Executive Board.

1. a) There are no dues for NER Coalition membership.
2. b) Membership begins following the review of a completed application. Once a member is registered, they retain their membership status unless they lose good standing.
3. c) Members may lose good standing if they 1) act against the purpose and mission of the NER Coalition, or 2) engage in religious proselytization within NER Coalition spaces or towards other NER Coalition members. Termination of a member for losing good standing may only occur through a vote to terminate the individual’s membership by at least 2/3 of all active members voting, with Board representatives retaining veto power over the vote.
4. d) If someone is already an active or support member, they can complete the registration form again to update their membership status. If no other information is needed, the only required fields to be completed are name, e-mail, and updated membership status. Members may use this to change their membership status type from an active to support membership, from a support to active membership, or to terminate their membership. Changes to membership status are effective upon review.

SECTION 1. PURPOSE. Caucuses are suborganizations of the NER Coalition that serve as microcommunities for a particular shared identity within the NER umbrella framework (e.g., a Jewish Caucus, a Muslim Caucus, an Atheist Caucus, etc.). Caucuses exist as affinity groups that support, advance the interests, and promote the welfare of the group the caucus represents. Caucuses serve as a micro-community for staff and faculty on campus, and advocate for the needs and goals of said group. Caucuses generally have the same purpose and mission as the NER Coalition, as outlined in Articles II and III, but tailored to their particular identity group. While caucuses may not work against the purpose and mission of the NER Coalition, they may adopt their own mission, purpose, or goals.

SECTION 2. FORMATION. Whenever there are at least three active or support NER Coalition members who have a particular shared identity, those members can elect to form a caucus. A caucus can be formed by submitting the name of the caucus, the names of at least three founding members, and the name of the caucus Board Member representative in writing to the NER Coalition president through a designated webform. Caucuses become active upon review. At the caucus’s determination, their initial Board Member representative may be an interim representative until the caucus is able to meet, organize, and elect a more permanent representative.

SECTION 3. OPERATING PROCEDURES. While caucuses are suborganizations of NER Coalition, they are authorized to operate independently from the coalition, so long as their goals are aligned with the mission and purpose of the NER Coalition, as outlined in these operating papers, and their operations comply with state and university laws and regulations. Within these parameters, caucuses have agency to decide how they will self-govern and operate. Caucuses are encouraged to have all their eligible members register as members of the NER Coalition, but will nevertheless remain in good standing so long as at least three caucus members are active or support NER Coalition members. Caucuses may only speak and act on behalf of their own caucus. Caucuses may not speak or act on behalf of the NERA Coalition. It is up to caucuses to each identify their own missions, operating procedures, level of formality, their scope of membership, etc. Caucuses may also decide on their own procedures for terminating the existence of their caucus. If a caucus chooses to terminate, they must notify the NER Coalition president of this in writing. If a caucus terminates, it can reform at any time following procedure in Article V, Section 2.

SECTION 4. BOARD REPRESENTATIVE. Each caucus shall have one representative who shall serve on the NER Coalition Executive Board. Said representative may designate a proxy, in writing to the NER Coalition president, for any meetings they are unable to attend or Board votes they are unable to cast. Caucuses are responsible for updating the NER Coalition when their Board representative changes. Board representatives may concurrently serve as a NER Coalition officer and/or in a caucus leadership role. Board representatives must be active or support NER Coalition members.

SECTION 5. A caucus will be terminated if it is no longer functional, as defined by the following criteria, upon review of the following criteria and consensus among NER Coalition president and vice presidents that this criteria has been met: If either 1) a year passes and a caucus’s representative or their proxy has not attended any held meetings or voted on any given votes, or 2) a representative loses eligibility due to no longer being an active or support NER Coalition member and a year passes without the caucus notifying the NER Coalition president of a replacement representative, and the NER Coalition President is either 1) unable to confirm that the caucus has at least three NER Coalition members constituting it, or 2) unable to confirm that the caucus wants to continue its existence.

Section 1. OFFICERS. The elected officers of the NER Coalition shall be a President, Vice-President for faculty, Vice-President for staff, and Vice-President for Alums. The President may serve concurrently in a vice-president role. While it is ideal for the vice president positions to be held by a member from that constituency, it is not required. Officers shall take up the duties of secretary, treasurer, and parliamentarian, or appoint registered consenting member to these positions or to take up these duties.

Section 2. TERMS. Officers will be elected directly from and by the active membership to serve two-year terms, which will begin on July 1 following the election. Officers may be re-elected to the same office, without term limits.

Section 3. BOARD MEMBERS. The NER Coalition Executive Board shall consist of the elected officers and one representative from each NER Coalition caucus, selected by said caucus in a manner chosen by said caucus. Caucus representatives to the Board may serve concurrently in NER Coalition president and/or vice-president officer positions.

Section 1. MEETINGS. The president may call meetings of the NER Coalition Executive Board, and general assembly meetings of this coalition, as appropriate. Notice of all meetings will be e-mailed to active and support members at least one week prior to the meeting.

Section 2. PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE. All meeting protocols will be handled with appropriate parliamentary procedures as outlined in Appendix A. Parliamentary Procedures.

Section 3. VOTING PROCESS. Only process votes through general feelings and approval votes to determine which proposal among competing proposals will proceed to a formal vote will occur at meetings. While constituents, support members, and guests are welcome to share their input and participate actively in meetings, process and approval voting is restricted to active members only.

Section 4. FORMAL VOTING. Consideration of any proposals will occur only through formal voting, which will only occur online via electronic ballot, not at the NER Coalition general assembly or Executive Board meetings. Online votes will remain open for at least a 24-hour window. Executive Board proposals may only go forward for a Board vote after Board members are given time to consult with their caucus members and elected officers are given sufficient time to consult with any NER Coalition members who are not part of a caucus. Upon written request to the NER Coalition president by any active member for a full roll call voting record for any formal vote that was conducted by electronic ballot, the member must be given the full roll call voting record without delay.

Section 5. VOTING SCOPE. Active NER Coalition members take formal votes on: operating paper changes, officer elections, membership terminations for lack of good standing, removal of officers, and dissolution of the NER Coalition. All currently active members must be given the opportunity to vote on these matters. The authority for formal votes on all other proposals is designated to the Executive Board. All current Board members must be given the opportunity to vote on these matters.

Section 6. VETO POWER. All caucuses, through their Board representatives, have veto power and can major object or veto any formal proposal. If one Board representative vetoes a proposal, it does not pass. Likewise, no official statement should be published in the NER Coalition’s name without Board representatives having an opportunity to veto the issuance of the statement. The NER Coalition can only take collective action or make statements that have a consensus among all caucuses in terms of support to proceed. Caucus Board representatives may still vote against a measure while choosing not to veto it, and it may in that case be adopted if the proposal otherwise passes. A veto must be used at the time of a vote. It may not be used retroactively. Officers who are not concurrently Board representatives do not have veto power.

Section 7. COMMITTEE & CAUCUS MEETINGS. Standing meetings and ad-hoc committee meeting schedules will be determined by committee chairs. Caucuses will self-organize and communicate and meet in the frequency and mode they determine best suited for their caucus.

Section 8. QUORUM. There is no quorum required for meetings.

Section 1. ELECTIONS & NOMINATIONS.

1. a) At the beginning of each Spring Semester, a call will go out to membership for nominations for elected officer positions.
   
   b) Nominations will remain open at least through the end of the winter season. A nominee shall be placed on the ballot only if the nominee has verified they accept the nomination. On the first day of spring, if there are any positions with one uncontested nominee, no election will be held for that position and that nominee will be automatically elected to the office.
2. c) Nominations will close no later than the end of April, even if there are no nominees for a position. In the case of offices with two or more nominees, an election will be held no later than the end of May. In order to be elected to office, each candidate must receive a plurality of all votes cast through an electronic ballot. Only active members may vote. The ballot must be open for at least a 24-hour window. In the case of uncontested positions, no election will be held and the nominee will be automatically elected to the office.

Section 2. VACANCIES. In the event of a vacancy in the President’s office or in a Vice-President’s office, the Executive Board, by vote, shall appoint, at its earliest convenience an interim officer to serve through June 30. In the event of a temporary vacancy where the officer will return to office prior to the term’s end (e.g., due to sabbatical or temporary leave), the Executive Board, by vote, shall appoint at its earliest convenience an acting officer to serve in the interim period. An existing officer is allowed to simultaneously serve in an additional role as an interim, acting, or term president or vice president. The Executive Board may, at its discretion, choose to forgo making an appointment and instead call for nominations and then hold an election for a vacancy to elect an interim or acting president or vice president.

Section 3. REMOVAL OF OFFICERS. Vice presidents may resign by communicating their resignation in writing to the NER Coalition president. The NER Coalition president may resign by communicating their resignation in writing to the NER Coalition vice presidents. The president or a vice president can also be removed for cause through a vote to remove by at least 2/3 of all active members voting, with Board representatives retaining veto power over the vote.

Section 1. APPROVAL OF OPERATING PAPERS. Two-thirds of the active members voting in favor of an amendment shall be necessary to approve an amendment to the current operating papers. Caucus representatives may veto proposed changes to the current operating papers.

Section 2. REVIEWING OPERATING PAPERS. Any NER Coalition member may suggest changes to the operating papers. The Executive Board may make suggestions for changes to the operating papers at any time.

Section 3. REVIEWING PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURES. Changes to Appendix A. Parliamentary Procedures, can occur through a two-thirds affirmative vote of the Executive Board or a two-thirds affirmative vote of voting active members. Caucus representatives may veto proposed changes to parliamentary procedures.

Section 1. DISSOLUTION. The amendment procedure shall be followed for the abolition of these operating papers. The Coalition may be dissolved at any time, upon 2/3rd majority vote by its active members. Any Caucus Board representative may veto such a proposal. If such a proposal does not have a veto and has a 2/3 majority among voting members, but does not have enough votes to pass, the Executive Board may subsequently vote with a required 2/3 majority vote of Board members to dissolve the organization. If there are any remaining assets, after payment of all debts, obligations, or necessary final expenses, the Executive Board shall also vote on how to disperse the funds so that they contribute to the advancement and support of the NER Coalition’s mission.

Section 1. GENERAL PROCEDURES

1.   All meetings of this body are open to the public. Guests may fully participate in discussions, but only active members may make process suggestions, make proposals, give general feelings on process votes, and vote on approval votes. If you require accommodations to be able to actively participate in the meeting, please be in touch with the NER Coalition president about your particular needs.
2. Notice of all meetings will be e-mailed to active and support members at least one week prior to the meeting. There is no quorum for meetings to occur or continue. However, no formal votes may be taken at meetings.
3. Minutes will be taken at all official meetings of the body. Minutes are subject to review and approval of the body they are for.

Section 2: MEETING AGENDA

The Executive Board is responsible for the meeting agenda for general assembly meetings. The elected officers are responsible for the meeting agenda for Executive Board meetings. Any member in good standing may propose adding an item to the agenda by contacting the President. Any proposed items will be considered by the President and/or Executive Board for inclusion on an upcoming agenda or otherwise referred to the appropriate venue for consideration.

The standard agenda items for a standard meeting are as follows and come in this order:

1. Check-ins and Introductions of Guests: Who is in the room is acknowledged/introduced, along with their role. Guests are introduced as they come in or at the beginning of the meeting, and share their purpose for attending the meeting. Members and Board representatives, along with caucus affiliations, and officers, are introduced.
2. Approval of the agenda: modifications may be made, approved by general feelings.
3. Outside Business: Any business that a guest proposes or brings to the meeting takes precedence over internal business. After the item is discussed, guests are welcome to leave or to stay for part or the rest of the meeting.
4. Approval of the Minutes: Any changes to the last meeting’s minutes are noted; the minutes are approved by general feelings.
5. Reports: Officers and Board representatives give updates or raise items that are relevant for the body’s consideration. Anyone else with a relevant announcement can make it at this time.
6. Internal Business: All the body’s business falls under this category.
7. Check-outs and Evaluations: At the end of the meeting, there is an opportunity for feedback on how the meeting went, to comment on the process of the meeting, and any other closing comments about things still sitting with folks.

 Section 3. PROPOSALS

1. Proposals may only be made by active members in good standing, although the authors need not be active members.
2. All proposals deemed by the author or proposer as meriting a formal vote following the meeting are to be submitted in writing at least three days directly preceding the meeting at which they are to be proposed. Counterproposals that arise during a discussion are exempt from this process. If possible, members should be given the time to look over a proposal and give suggestions before meetings.
3. Written proposals should include the motion language, and ideally background on the motion, pros and cons regarding the motion, and other considerations related to the proposal. Only the actual motion will be voted on.

Section 4.  DISCUSSION PROCEDURE
Discussion topics and proposals are handled as follows:

1.   The president or their designee facilitates the discussion.
2. Discussion of a proposal begins with an introduction by the person making the proposal or bringing forth the discussion topic. The introduction should always specify the body’s role in the proposal (whether to vote on it, consider it, share feedback, etc.).
3. The floor is then open for clarifying questions, which should be objective and factual. The time for clarifying questions is restricted to questions that are objective, factual, and aim to clarify the proposal. For instance, “when will this proposal take effect?” is acceptable, but “Isn’t this proposal a bad idea?” is not. Before moving on to general discussion, all members should fully understand what is being discussed.
4. Only after all clarifying questions have been asked is the floor open for general discussion, which is the time for members and guests to offer their opinion, dialogue, debate, and suggest any amendments.
   1. If there is a large group, a lot of people want to contribute to the discussion, or an issue is thought to be or becomes contentious, the discussion may be more formal, using the below process. Otherwise, the discussion may be more informal. The facilitator will judge the extent to which they need to use a formal stack and process protocols or open up the discussion for a more informal conversation.
   2. If stack is being used, the facilitator takes stack, the list of persons wishing to speak. The facilitator will call on persons to speak. If someone wishes to speak, that person must signal to the facilitator, who will write down the name of that person. The facilitator may also designate another member to take stack. Stack is not first-come first-serve; the facilitator is encouraged to use stack to adjust power dynamics and strive towards consensus (e.g. someone who has not yet contributed to the conversation may “jump” stack, meaning they move to the front of the list to speak).
      1. If you want to speak, signal the facilitator, who will place you on stack, the list of persons wishing to speak.
   3. You can request the opportunity to jump stack to give a direct response.
      1. If you have factual information to provide regarding a statement that was just made, signal the facilitator, making a with your hand, to ask someone who has just spoken if you can offer a direct response. If the person does not give you permission to provide a direct response and you would still like to make your comment, you can signal the facilitator to be added to stack.
   4. You can jump stack to ask a clarifying question.
      1. Signal the facilitator, making a  with your hand, to ask a clarifying question to someone who has just spoken.
   5. You can register your agreement with something being said.
      1. Knock lightly on the table (or in the air if there is no table).
   6. If the facilitator asks for general feelings on something, you can share your sentiments:
      1. =   positive 
      2.  =   negative
      3.  =  indifferent, apathetic, or mixed
      4.  = major objection: Note: Major objecting can be important, but can also chill the vibe. If it seems like things are rushed or there are a lot of people and your feelings might get lost, by all means go ahead and major object. But if there is a small group and/or time is not rushed, if a minority of general feelings are thumbs down and you have a thumbs down, this should prompt the facilitator to check in with you / give you the floor.
   7. Accommodations and modifications shall be made as needed to ensure everyone can participate and that the NER Coalition is not disabling members or guests through its parliamentary procedure. An example accommodation is having papers that participants can hold up with the symbols on them if a participant can hold up papers but not easily make the symbols with their hands.
5. Moving towards a vote
   1. After discussion, a proposal’s sponsor is allowed a minute for closing remarks, and should restate the wording of the proposal, to the extent that it is unwritten or has been modified, so that all are clear about what it means to be “in favor.”
   2. Next, the body should move into a process vote on any proposals, or move onto its next agenda item. When one or more proposals are on the table, stack has been finished, and the initial proposal sponsor has been given an opportunity for closing remarks, the facilitator next asks for general feelings on voting or for a different process suggestion. When general feelings are taken on proceeding to a vote,
      1. If general feelings are negative, the proposal may be discussed further, tabled, sent to a subgroup for revisions, or dropped.
      2. If general feelings are positive but there are thumbs pointed down, the facilitator asks if any voting member has a major objection to voting. Any active member who objects explains why and there is a brief discussion only about the objection. If the dispute cannot be resolved through compromise or principle-based negotiation, then general feelings can be taken again following the discussion about the objection. Based on general feelings at this point, if general feelings are generally positive, the proposal may nevertheless move towards a formal vote. Active members are asked to keep in mind that if a Board representative vetoes a formal proposal, it will not pass.

 Section 5.  PROCESS SUGGESTIONS; PROCESS AND APPROVAL VOTES

1.   Process Suggestions are ways of steering the direction of discussion and can contribute greatly to efficiency. Process suggestions can be made at any time, without waiting for stack, and require an immediate vote. Only voting members may make process suggestions.
   1. Make a process suggestion or proposal:  Signal the facilitator, making a  with your hands. These always jump stack and do not require a second.
2. Some common process suggestions are:
   1. “I move to close stack”—if approved, anybody who wants to join stack has one final opportunity to do so and then it is closed. When stack is exhausted, discussion is over. Note: another useful process suggestion is to reopen stack.
   2. “I move to table this proposal”—Tabling a proposal removes it from discussion during that meeting. This proposal is appropriate if a proposal is taking too much time when there are other pressing matters, or if it needs more work. Stack does not finish if a proposal is tabled.
   3. “I move to limit speaking time to X minutes”—If this motion passes, a timekeeper clocks each speech and calls “time” when a speaker has reached the limit. This motion applies only to a specific discussion and not to the rest of the meeting. The process suggestion is useful at particularly verbose meetings or when facilitation has not been aggressive. Strict time limits, however, can hamper serious discussion of complex issues and may make people uncomfortable.
   4. “I move to limit/extend discussion time to X more minutes”—Sets or extends a time limit to the discussion. When the time runs out, stack is considered closed.
   5. “I move for an approval vote on these X proposals”—When two or more conflicting proposals are up for a vote at the same time, an approval vote may be held to determine which proposal will be accepted, if any. A hand vote is taken on each proposal to determine which of the competing proposals is the most popular. Members may vote for as many of the competing proposals as they wish, but they may not vote against any. The most popular proposal is then subjected to general feelings about moving it forward for a formal vote.
3. Process votes includes all process suggestions and simple organizational matters, such as closing stack, internal appointments, approving meeting minutes, or setting a date for a meeting.
   1. Process votes are decided by general feelings, a system set up to frequently take the pulse of the group.
   2. Voting members indicate their vote with a thumbs-up, thumbs-down, or thumbs to the side (indicating indifference). A raised fist can also be used for major objections.
   3. The facilitator decides whether the thumb array indicates general feelings of mostly positive, mostly negative, or mixed.
      1. If the response is mixed, the body should return to discussion, while positive or negative response indicates passed or rejected, respectively.
      2. If response is mostly positive with a few strong negatives, the facilitator should ask the objectors to state their objection and a brief discussion of the objection may ensue, followed by general feelings being taken again.

  Section 6.  FORMAL VOTING

1. Formal voting on formal proposals is done electronically through an electronic ballot vote and does not occur during meetings. A majority must vote in favor of a proposal for a proposal to pass, out of the votes for or against the proposal.
2. Any Caucus representative may veto any proposal. This may only be done through the electronic ballot at the time of voting.
3. Votes are either by the Board or by the active membership. Every eligible person has the opportunity to vote: for a proposal, against a proposal, or to abstain. Board representatives also have the option to veto a proposal. Votes are tabulated as roll call votes by the NER Coalition president or designee.
4. Determining if a proposal passes:
   1. Any formal proposals vetoed by a Board representative will not pass.
   2. As specified in the operating papers, certain formal votes require a 2/3 supermajority of those voting: amending operating papers and/or parliamentary procedures, removing an officer, terminating a member.
      1. These votes require a 2/3 majority of those voting to vote in favor of the proposal, so that means that of all votes, including abstentions, at least 2/3 must vote in support of the proposal. For example, a vote on 9 in favor, 4 against, and 2 abstentions would fail, as the 2/3 majority among those voting would require 10 of the 15 votes to be in favor of the proposal.
   3. As specified in the operating papers, dissolving the organization requires a 2/3 supermajority of active members. This means that 2/3 of the active members on the membership roster must vote in support of dissolution.
   4. Contested elections require a plurality vote. Whichever candidate has the most votes is elected.
   5. All other formal votes are decided by majority vote.
      1. For all other formal votes, abstentions do not count towards determining the majority. For example, if a vote is 3 for, 2 against, and 10 abstentions, the motion will carry, as there are more votes in favor than opposed. Likewise, if half the votes are in favor but fewer than half are opposed, the motion will carry, even if that half in favor is not a majority of all votes. For example, a vote of 8 in favor, 7 opposed, and 1 abstention would pass.
      2. If there is an equal number of votes in favor and in opposition, the proposal does not pass. If there are more votes in opposition than in favor, the proposal does not pass.