Are nominations from a nominating committee binding if the bylaws don't require one?

Short answer

No. Under Robert's Rules, a nominating committee only proposes candidates. Its picks are not binding, whether or not your bylaws call for the committee. Members may still nominate others from the floor and may vote for any eligible person (RONR §46).

What to do

1. Confirm how the committee was formed. If your bylaws are silent, the group can still create a nominating committee by a vote or a standing rule. A standing rule is a lasting rule about how the group runs things (RONR §50, §2).
2. Have the committee report its nominees. At the election meeting, the committee chair reads the names. A nomination from a committee needs no second (RONR §46).
3. Do not vote to "accept" or "approve" the slate. A slate is the committee's list of candidates. Its report is just a set of nominations, not a recommendation for the group to adopt (RONR §51).
4. Call for floor nominations. After the report, the chair asks for more nominations for each office. Any member may nominate. A second is not needed (RONR §46).
5. Close nominations only when no one else wants to nominate. If no one speaks up, the chair can declare them closed. Someone can also move to close them (RONR §31).
6. Hold the election. Count every legal vote. That includes write-in votes on a ballot for eligible people who were never nominated, unless your bylaws forbid this (RONR §45, §46).

What the chair says

The nominating committee will now give its report.

The nominating committee has nominated [name] for the office of president. Are there any further nominations for president?

[After a pause] Are there any further nominations? … Hearing none, nominations for president are closed.

The motion

You usually don't need a motion at all. The chair simply calls for nominations. If a member wants to cut nominations off early, the motion is to close nominations (RONR §31):

• Needs a second? Yes.
• Debatable? No.
• Amendable? Only as to timing.
• Vote needed? Two-thirds.
• Can it interrupt a speaker? No.

It is out of order while a member is trying to make a nomination. If nominations were closed too soon, a motion to reopen nominations needs only a majority (RONR §31).

Common mistakes

• Treating the committee's list as final. Some chairs skip floor nominations or say "the slate is presented for a vote." That takes away members' right to nominate (RONR §46).
• Voting to "accept the report." That vote has no meaning here. Worse, it can make members think the nominees are already elected (RONR §51).
• Throwing out write-in votes. On a ballot, a vote for an eligible person counts even if that person was never nominated (RONR §45).

When your own rules say otherwise

Your bylaws, special rules of order, or state law can change all of this, and they win over the general rules in Robert's (RONR §2, §56). Look for any clause that limits nominations to the committee's choices, bans floor nominations or write-ins, sets a deadline for nominations by petition, or says who sits on the committee. HOAs, nonprofits, and churches may also be bound by state corporation law or a governing document from a parent body. Public bodies may have election rules in a charter or statute. If your rules seem to clash with each other, an attorney who knows your type of group can help. Otherwise, the default under Robert's Rules is simple: the committee suggests, and the members decide.