96
RULES OF ORDER.
[§ 38
The assembly can, by a majority vote, order that the vote on any question be taken by Yeas and Nays.[1] In this method of voting the Chairman states both sides of the question at once; the clerk calls the roll, and each member, as his name is called, rises and answers yes or no, and the clerk notes his answer. Upon the completion of the roll-call the clerk reads over the names of those who answered in the affirmative, and afterwards those in the negative, that mistakes may be corrected; he then
- ↑ Taking a vote by yeas and nays, which has the effect to place on the record how each member votes, is peculiar to this country, and, while it consumes a great deal of time, is rarely useful in ordinary societies. While it can never be used to hinder business, as long as the above rule is observed, it should not be used at all in a mass meeting, or in any other assembly whose members are not responsible to a constituency. By the Constitution, one-fifth of the members present can, in either house of Congress, order a vote to be taken by yeas and nays, and, to avoid some of the resulting inconveniences, Congress has required, for instance, that the previous question shall be seconded by a majority, thus avoiding the yeas and nays until a majority are in favor of ordering the main question. In representative bodies this method of voting is very useful, especially where the proceedings are published, as it enables the people to know how their representatives voted on important measures. If there is no legal or constitutional provision for the yeas and nays being ordered by a minority in a representative body, they should adopt a rule allowing the yeas and nays to be ordered by a one-fifth vote, as in Congress, or even by a much smaller number. In some small bodies a vote on a resolution must be taken by yeas and nays, upon the demand of a single member.
