Chapter 5 - Officers
of the Senate:
Parliamentary administration
Voting
by President and Deputy President
The President and Deputy President are in all cases entitled to a vote.
When in the chair they may vote by stating to the tellers whether they vote
with the “Ayes” or with the “Noes” (Constitution, s. 23; SO 99).
Voting by the
President, or the Deputy President as Chair of
Committees, when in the chair, is optional (SO 101(5)). In
practice this rule is extended to any senator occupying the chair. The reason
for the rule is that a senator in the chair cannot avoid voting by leaving the
chamber when a division is called for, as can other senators. In practice,
however, the senator in the chair normally votes in a division.
When the President is present in committee of the whole during a
division the President must vote. Similarly, if the Deputy President is present
in the Senate when a division is presided over by the President, the Deputy
President must vote.
As with the
President, a senator in the chair has a deliberative vote and not a casting or
deciding vote.
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