Casting-vote

Casting-vote, the vote by which the chairman or president of a meeting is generally empowered to cast the balance on the one side or the other, where the other votes are equally divided. In the House of Commons the Speaker does not vote at all unless this state of things occurs. As his position in this respect is felt to be a delicate one for a person whose duty it is to withdraw himself from the contentions of party, it is usual for the Speaker to vote in such a way as to give the House an opportunity of reconsidering its decision by further discussion; but if the merits of a bill cannot be avoided, the Speaker is entitled to vote according to his conscience. The same rule prevails in select committees, and for the chairman of Committee of the whole House or of Ways and Means. Following a similar rule, the chairman at corporation and ordinary public meetings usually gives his casting-vote in a way that will lead to a reconsideration of the subject.