a quorum

     A quorum is the number of members of a club or organization necessary to conduct business. A quorum may be expressed as a number, or as the percentage of members present required to make a voting number, or quorum. A group with one hundred members may decide that no voting can take place unless fifty of them are present, for example. The United States Senate has a quorum of fifty-one. If there are fewer than fifty-one members present, the senate cannot vote on a bill. The House of Representatives has a quorum of two hundred and eighteen. Each house of congress requires that more than half of the members be present to vote on a bill, or the vote is postponed.