What happens when a Louisiana police jury ties while appointing a public works director?

Plain-English summary

In 2013, the Louisiana Attorney General concluded that the Evangeline Parish Police Jury could not appoint its public works director on a mere plurality under the procedural rules described in its request. In a nine-member jury with one absent member, the first ballot gave the candidates four, three, and one votes. That gave the leader the most votes but no majority. Later votes between two candidates tied.

The AG said the jury should keep voting until a candidate received a majority, since no rule for resolving the tie was identified. It also said the jury president could not cast an additional tie-breaking vote after voting as a member. The opinion recommended adopting procedural rules for future tie votes.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2013. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Was four votes enough to appoint the public works director?

No. The first ballot's four votes gave one candidate a plurality, but the AG said the appointment required a majority under the rules the jury followed. The request did not identify a bylaw allowing a plurality appointment.

Could the police jury president cast another vote to break a tie?

No. The opinion said the president had already voted as a member and could not vote a second time in the capacity of chair.

What did the AG recommend after repeated ties?

Absent a procedural rule resolving the tie, the AG said the jury should continue voting as many times as necessary to reach a majority. It also recommended rules to govern future tied decisions.

Background and procedural framework

The police jury followed Robert's Rules of Order. The AG quoted its majority and plurality rules, noting that a plurality does not elect a person to office unless a special rule previously adopted allows it. It also relied on earlier Louisiana AG opinions recommending continued voting after a tie where no other procedure governs.

Citations

• Robert's Rules of Order, tenth edition (majority, plurality, and chair-voting principles quoted in the opinion).
• La. Atty. Gen. Op. Nos. 92-41 and 78-574 (continued voting after ties, as cited by the AG).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/13-0156

Original opinion text

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE
70804-9005
JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

October 22, 2013
OPINION 13-0156

90 - B - 4 - PUBLIC MEETINGS - State & Local Government Bodies Mr. Donald Bergeron
Secretary-Treasurer
Evangeline Parish, operating under Robert's Rules of Order, must
Evangeline Parish Police Jury
appoint the Public Works Director by a majority vote. In the event of a tie
1008 W. LaSalle Street
vote on the decision to appoint the Public Works Director by the
Evangeline Parish Police Jury, absent any procedural rules governing
Ville Platte, Louisiana 70586
such a situation, the Police Jury should continue voting as many times as
is necessary to obtain a majority vote.
Dear Mr. Bergeron:

Our office received the request submitted by your predecessor for an opinion on behalf of the Evangeline Parish Police Jury ("Police Jury") concerning the vote to appoint a Public Works Director. According to the request, the Police Jury held a meeting to vote on candidates for Public Works Director. There are nine members of the Police Jury and one member was absent. At the first vote, one candidate received four votes, a second received three votes, and a third received one vote. The request letter indicates the Police Jury attorney advised that a majority vote is required to appoint the Public Works Director. Since no candidate received a majority, the Police Jury voted again, removing the third candidate. The second vote resulted in a tie between the two candidates. The Police Jury recessed and allowed the two candidates to present their qualifications to the Police Jury. The resulting vote was another tie.

The request letter mentions that the Police Jury follows Roberts Rules of Order, and asks for an opinion from this office as to whether a plurality or majority vote is required to appoint the Public Works Director. Additionally, the letter seeks advice on the appropriate course of action when a measure being considered by the Police Jury results in multiple tie votes.

First, we will address whether a majority or plurality vote is required to appoint the Public Works Director. As stated by Robert's Rules of Order:

The basic principle of decision in a deliberative assembly is that, to become the act or choice of the body, a proposition must be adopted by a majority vote; that is, direct approval-implying assumption of responsibility for the act-must be registered by more than half of the members present and voting on a particular matter.... 1

                                              *           *          *

1 RONR (10th ed.), p. 4, I. 5-10.

Page 2

OPINION 13-0156
Mr. Donald Bergeron
Page 2

. . . the basic requirement for approval of an action or choice by a deliberative assembly, except where a rule provides otherwise, is a majority vote. The word majority means "more than half'... 2

A plurality vote is the largest number of votes to be given any candidate or proposition when three or more choices are possible; the candidate or proposition receiving the largest number of votes has a plurality. A plurality that is not a majority never chooses a proposition or elects anyone to office except by virtue of a special rule previously adopted. If such a rule is to apply to the election of officers, it must be prescribed in the bylaws. A rule that a plurality shall elect is unlikely to be in the best interests of the average organization. 3

As described above, a plurality that is not the majority does not elect anyone to office unless there is a previously adopted rule providing for such. 4 The position of Public Works Director is an office within the parish government; therefore,' unless prescribed otherwise within the bylaws, it would be appropriate to appoint the Public Works Director by a majority, rather than a plurality, vote.

Next, the request letter asks what to do as a result of the multiple tie votes. As shown in the minutes, the President of the Police Jury voted on the issue. Therefore, even though the vote of the chair's vote is referred to in Robert's Rules of Order as a method of resolving a tie vote, this may not be used when the President has already voted. 5

Our office has previously advised in the event of a tie vote that the public body should continue voting as many times as is necessary to obtain a majority vote. See La. Atty. Gen. Op. Nos. 92-41 and 78-574.

In La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 76-634, our office advised the Police Jury Association of Louisiana that since the law does not provide a procedure for the election of the president, it is necessary for a police jury to adopt procedural rules governing 'such election, including rules to be followed to break a tie vote. It is advisable for the police jury to adopt procedural rules which would govern future decisions that result in a tie vote.

2 RONR (10th ed.), p. 387, I. 5-8.
3 RONR (10th ed.), p. 391, I. 35-36, p. 392, I. 1-7.
4 Your request does not contain any information indicating that the bylaws prescribe a plurality vote should be utilized when appointing a director within the parish government. 5 See generally RONR (10th ed.), p. 392-93. "The chair cannot vote twice, once as a member, then again in his capacity as a presiding officer." RONR (10th ed.), p. 393, I. 15-16. See also La. Atty. Gen. Op. Nos. 91-613,87-473,78-469 and 78-230.

Page 3

OPINION 13-0156
Mr. Donald Bergeron
Page 3

In conclusion, it is the opinion of this office that the Public Works Director must be appointed by a majority vote. In the event of a tie vote on the decision to appoint the Public Works DireCtor by the Evangeline Parish Police Jury, absent any procedural rules governing such a situation, the Police Jury should continue voting as many times as is necessary to obtain a majority vote.

We hope that this opinion has adequately addressed the legal issues you have raised. If our office can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

With best regards,

JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

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Assistant Attorney Gene
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