If your company is incorporated, then it is run by a board of directors. This means that the power to control the direction of the business is shared among several people. Often times these people will not see eye-to-eye, and votes may end in a draw. There are ways to resolve this situation by breaking the tie and moving on with business as usual.
Verify the votes to ensure that they are accurate. If the vote was conducted by ballot, recount the ballots. If it was conducted orally, ask the board members to restate their votes.
Allow the chair of the board to cast a vote if she has not already done so. The chair of a board is permitted to vote on all matters, but on many boards the chair does not vote unless there is a tie. If the chair has not already voted, then her vote will break the tie. For example, if you have a board of seven people including the chair, and three have voted in favor and three against, allowing the chair to vote will result in a four to three majority.
Follow the status quo if the chair has already voted and there is a tie. In order for a vote to pass, more than 50 percent of the votes must be in favor of the motion. If there is a tie, then this requirement is not met and the vote cannot pass. For example, if you have board consisting of eight people including the chair, with four votes in favor and four against, the tie remains and the motion cannot pass.
Refer to your corporate bylaws for further procedures. Your bylaws may specify alternative resolution methods for handling a tie vote.
- "Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 10th Edition"; Henry M. Robert III, et al.; 2008