What is Voting by the Council?

Upon the conclusion of council discussion on a pending motion, the presiding officer should call for a roll call vote conducted by the clerk. The sequence of members voting on each motion is rotated by some councils to avoid requiring the same member to initiate (or conclude) the vote on every motion. The clerk should call the name of each member and immediately record that member’s verbal vote so as to avoid later confusion. (See the model voting record for the clerk’s minutes attached at the end of this Section.) Upon concluding the roll call vote, the clerk should announce the results, which should be recorded in the minutes. As a general rule, members should avoid abstaining from a vote unless, following discussion with the city attorney, the member is certain that a conflict of interest prevents the vote. There appears to be no clear-cut authority in Montana law enabling proxy voting by a council or remote voting by a member’s use of electronic equipment, such as a telephone. The practice is of doubtful validity. However, if a council decides to permit voting by a member who is not physically present at the meeting, they should first develop a specific policy setting forth the requirements to do so and ask the city attorney for a written opinion as to the legality of the procedure prior to authorizing the practice.