Ex officio Versus Nonvoting Members

What is the difference between an “Ex officio” member and a “nonvoting” member? Basically, an ex officio member means a person having membership by virtue of the office that he or she holds. Ex officio members of an entity will cease to be members when they no longer hold their offices.

Ex officio status does not refer to whether the member is a voting or nonvoting member. The word “ex officio” is Latin for “from the office.” Again, an ex officio is someone who holds a position due to their office.

In general, ex officio members of an entity are voting members unless otherwise specified in the law. In fact, in order to make an ex officio member of an entity a nonvoting member, the statute must specifically provide that the member is nonvoting.

On the other hand, a nonvoting member means that an individual cannot case a vote as a member of a particular entity.