History of “Aye” and “No”
Paul McClintock, CP-T
In putting the typical question for a voice vote, the chair says, “Those in favor of the motion, say aye” and “Those opposed, say no” (Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR), p. 44). The chair announces “The ayes have it” or “The noes have it” (RONR, p. 47).
Why do we pair “Aye” with “No”? Why not “Yes” and “No,” or “Aye” and “Nay,” or “Yea” and “Nay”?
“Aye” and “no” were used in Robert’s Rules of Order 1st edition, Cushing, Jefferson, British Parliament:
Robert's Rules of Order, 1876, 1st edition, www.gutenberg.org/etext/9097, pp. 74-75:
There are various forms for putting the question, in use in different parts of the country. The rule in Congress, in the House of Representatives, is as follows: “Questions shall be distinctly put in this form, to-wit: 'As many as are of the opinion that (as the question may be) say Aye;' and after the affirmative voice is expressed, 'As many as are of the contrary opinion, say No.'“ The following form is very common: “It has been moved and seconded that (here state the question). As many as are favor of the motion say Aye; those opposed, No."
Cushing’s Manual, 1856, www.tinyurl.com/cushing156, p. 156:
The following is the method practised in the house of commons. The question being stated by the speaker, he first puts it in the affirmative, namely:--As many as are of opinion that, --repeating the words of the question, --say aye; and immediately all the members who are of that opinion answer with one voice, aye; the speaker then puts the question negatively:--As many as are of a different opinion, say no; and thereupon, all the members who are of that opinion answer no.
Jefferson's Manual, 1812, www.constitution.org/tj/tj-mpp.htm:
When the debate is ended, the Speaker, holding the bill in his hand, puts the question for its passage, by saying, “Gentlemen, all you who are of opinion that this bill shall pass, say aye,” and after the answer of the ayes, “All those of the contrary opinion say no.” Hakew. 154.
The “Hakew.” citation is to William Hakewell. Interestingly though, Hakewell’s Modus Tenendi Parliamentum, or, The Old Manner of Holding Parliaments in England, Extracted out of our Ancient Records, London, 1671, p. 38, uses “yea” rather than “aye”:
the Speaker...saith, As many as will have this Bill pass concerning such a matter, say Yea; and those that are against it, No: and if it be a doubt which cry is bigger, the House is divided....
George Petyt (see Petyt reference in RONR, p. xxix) in his 1689 Lex Parliamentaria (London) also used the Yea/No pairing:
Every Question is to be put first in the Affirmative, and then the Negative: to which Question every Member ought to give his Vote one way or other: and the Speaker is to declare his Opinion, whether the Yea's or the No's have it; which is to stand as the Judgement of the House.
Despite the Hakewell reference, Jefferson’s Manual was most heavily influenced by the much more contemporary Precedents of Proceedings in the House of Commons, by John Hatsell (1781-1796), which pairs “aye” with “no.” John Hatsell became Chief Clerk of the House of Commons in 1768, retiring in 1797.
In 1893, Thomas Erskine May, confirms the aye/no usage in the House of Commons in A treatise on the law, privileges, proceedings, and usage of Parliament. (It is interesting to note the different usage in the House of Lords!) Page 273:
In the Commons, the Speaker takes the sense of the house by desiring that “As many as are of that opinion say, 'Aye,'” and “As many as are of the contrary opinion say, 'No.'” On account of these forms, the two parties are distinguished in the Lords as “contents” and “not contents,” and in the Commons as the “ayes” and “noes.”
There were other pairings as well, such as Yea/Not. The Unreformed House of Commons: parliamentary representation before 1832, by Edward Porritt and Annie Gertrude Porritt, published by University Press, 1903, reports per the minutes that in 1707, the Parliament at Edinburgh voted on a matter, “Yea or Not--and it carried Not.”
In conclusion, it appears that sometime between the Yea/No usage in 1689, and the Aye/No pairing in the 1780s, a transition and standardization occurred to Aye/No which stands to this day.
Paul McClintock, CP-T, is the president of the e-AIP online chapter (www.e-aip.org), and webmaster for AIP (www.AIPparl.org). He lives in the Seattle, WA area and is also president of the North Sound Chapter of AIP.