I am occasionally asked questions concerning parliamentary procedure,
most involving voting.  I am happy to respond, if I can be of help.  3
points on voting should answer most questions.

        1.  A motion must receive a majority of the votes cast (yays and nays) to
pass.  Abstentions *are not considered.*  If a body consisted of 1000
members present, of whom 999 abstained and 1 voted in favor, the motion
passed 1-0.

      2.  The Chair may vote if his vote affects the outcome, e.g. to break
or force a tie.

      3.  A quorum is 50% of the members + 1.

   I hope this helps.

   Jim Hiestand