What is a quorum?

• A. One plus 50% of the members present and eligible to vote.
• B. A majority of all members regardless of attendance.
• C. The minimum number required to convene a meeting.
• D. The number of members voting on a motion.

Answer: (A)

Quorum is the minimum number of members who must be present and eligible to vote for a meeting to legally proceed and for any decisions or votes to be valid. The idea is to ensure that a sufficient portion of those who can participate is involved in the process.

In this context, the rule described—one plus 50% of the members present and eligible to vote—means you first consider how many members are eligible, take half of that number, and then add one. This yields the smallest group size that constitutes a valid voting body, ensuring a majority of those who are able to participate are actually present. For example, if there are 10 eligible members, 50% is 5, and adding one gives 6; so at least 6 must be present and eligible to vote to conduct business.

Other formulations either misstate who counts toward quorum or confuse attendance with voting. A fixed attendance threshold or a requirement based on a majority of all members may not reflect the practical need to have a representative subset present; while the number voting on a motion reflects votes cast, not the threshold needed to qualify a meeting to proceed.