Electoral Reform?

[Ben Reilly]

Quoting Ben Reilly from 12:55, 19th Mar 2006
Considering the infrastructure that is in place, it would not be difficult to do. Durham University has an open-source system that we could use. Why not come along to SRC on Tuesday night to suggest it? Or email Alex on pres@st-andrews.ac.uk (or click here: LINK:mailto:pres@st-andrews.ac.uk )

Yes, apologies about that. It is the Student Services Committee on Tuesday night. However, elections are something that affects both Services and Representation, so come along to SSC. It is at 9 on Tuesday in the Committee Room on the top floor of the Association building.

[Adam Fellows]

Quoting David Bean from 14:26, 19th Mar 2006
Yes, you're quite right about that - SRC is next week.

Or rather the first Tuesday after the vacation, unless we have a meeting during that (in which case, I would have to send apologies)...

[Guest]

Electronic voting hasn't been introduced simply because they can't be bothered. There are no technical reasons whatsoever why it can't be done.

The whole set of election rules are ridiculous and they are not enforced impartially. The EOC is secretive (try getting a copy of past decisions from them so you can see what the precedents for a decision are...) and unaccountable.

Reform is needed, but all the hacks will do is bleat about it not being in their remit, and since all our sabs are 'equal' no one is bothered or forced to confront the issue...

[Ben Reilly]

The remits exist for a reason. It is up to SRC and SSC to ensure that the sabbaticals are filling those remits.

And it is because all of the sabbs are equal that everything that the Association does falls into one of the remits.

[Jono]

Weyhey! On to the anonymous sabb-bashing we go. Second page is around about average for this board isn't it?

I don’t believe there’s anything inherently wrong with the election process as it stands. What I would suggest for the next time is a vast improvement in advertisement. Not just for the elections, but throughout the year. As it stands we have three people walking into positions where they get paid fourteen-grand, and housed for a year, effectively for turning up on the day! I’m not criticising the candidates for this. I’m criticising the seeming reluctance to get people interested in union politics. Unless we have a reservoir of interested potential candidates ready to stand for positions we might as well have the current Sabbs appoint their successors for next year!

I suggest some kind of weekly newsletter, where the representatives can explain clearly and simply what they’re doing, what projects they’re in the middle of, etc. Advertising is there, but it needs to be more prominent and more ‘In-your-face.’ Why is it that a fortnight last Friday every table in the union bar was covered in fliers depicting the rectorial itinerary, whilst at the same time the only indication of any election was when candidates started sticking up their posters? The union has shown it can do this kind of advertisement with things such as Drink spiking, and the aforementioned rectorial. Why then can it not do similar campaigns all year round for SRC projects?


[hr]

Don't mention the Nazi's!

[exnihilo]

The splitting of the Association back into an SRC and a Union seems inevitable to me, the way it's structured now.

[Ben Reilly]

Quoting exnihilo from 23:37, 19th Mar 2006
The splitting of the Association back into an SRC and a Union seems inevitable to me, the way it's structured now.

And that would be a bad thing?

[exnihilo]

Nope.

[BeccaLydia]

Many of my friends have said that they didn't vote because they didn't know much about any of the nominees. We've all talked about it and if we'd had more of a chance to find out what everyone was proposing, then they would have been more likely to vote. The campaigning at the moment is quite frankly scary and does nothing to encourage people to vote, in fact the opposite - I've rarely seen the library so empty at 11am. I'm right in saying that each person has 100wds to say what they're about? If so, why aren't these put online? That way, people have plenty of time before they have to vote to go through it all and decide properly. If these are online, I've never found them and therefore they haven't been advertised properly. Either way it's a problem that could seriously affect the voting turnout - in my opinion. As has been mentioned many times previously, as there is such a big online community here, there really should be an online voting system.

[hr]

http://facebook.com/p.php?id=37100244&l

[Ben Reilly]

They are supposed to be put online.

[flarewearer]

Quoting Ben Reilly from 23:51, 19th Mar 2006
They are supposed to be put online.

Were they, this year?

[hr]

image:www.magnificentoctopus.com/x/elgar.png

[atreus]

Quoting Ben Reilly from 23:51, 19th Mar 2006
They are supposed to be put online.

But not even the election rules are online. I would expect that Tom d'Ardenne would have had trouble, then, distributing a great amount of copies of the election rules to his campaign team for them to follow. Why does the Union find it so difficult toput what is "public information" online; easier accessibility would mean better communication with the student body (or at least the probability would increase).

[Bizarre Atheist]

My girlfriend, at Uni in Aberdeen, is employed by their Union to publicise their upcoming elections. Her job description includes directly talking to 20 students at her stall in the main campus and handing out at least 2 sabb nomination forms in her 2-hour shift.

There are posters everywhere. Even a blind moron who'd never heard of University wouldn't be able to miss the fact that an election was soon.

Polling day is April 25th.

Just food for thought.

[hr]

http://www.race2paris.co.uk

[Ben Reilly]

Quoting flarewearer from 23:55, 19th Mar 2006

Quoting Ben Reilly from 23:51, 19th Mar 2006
They are supposed to be put online.

Were they, this year?

[hr]

image:www.magnificentoctopus.com/x/elgar.png

No, they weren't.

[exnihilo]

Tsk.

[BeccaLydia]

Another thing I just thought of: are the elections always this week, i.e. week or two before spring break? I can't remember the dates of the last two years. However, if they are then it's pretty bad timing. Load of people have essays due in these weeks, so of course we're more bothered about them than trying to find out (the main problem is the effort involved) about the candidates. I had two essays due, so voting was quite a long way down the list of immediate concerns. Maybe have them when fewer people have essays due - and it's not just me with essays, everyone I know had them too. So, maybe move them to sometime when we won't all have essays due?

[hr]

http://facebook.com/p.php?id=37100244&l

[Midget]

There are always other commitments, essay deadlines are different for different departments. This is a bollocks argument. Surely more essays are due 24th Mar, like mine. Students have plenty of time. Its about laziness, apathy and disinterest. I sincerely doubt that students are too busy to do a little bit of research and then the 5mins it takes to vote.

[hr]

IMAGE:img9.imgspot.com/u/04/241/18/160019.jpg Fall and Ruin: Candidate Ewin
http://standrews.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37100090

[Harry Giles]

There are always other commitments, essay deadlines are different for different departments. This is a bollocks argument.

Aye, 'tis.

My girlfriend, at Uni in Aberdeen, is employed by their Union to publicise their upcoming elections. Her job description includes directly talking to 20 students at her stall in the main campus and handing out at least 2 sabb nomination forms in her 2-hour shift.

There are posters everywhere. Even a blind moron who'd never heard of University wouldn't be able to miss the fact that an election was soon.

Polling day is April 25th.

Just food for thought.

This isn't, though.

Next time round, let's do this properly. I'm taking a personal interest in it, 'cause if I don't I might have to spend another year doing a job because there's nobody else in the know who wants to do it.

[niall]

Quoting exnihilo from 13:42, 19th Mar 2006
I think so too (that the AU elections boosted the turnout).

At Glasgow the voting lasts for a couple of days to allow plenty of people to vote online in the time.

the same is also true at strathclyde. When you go to vote, you can click on eah persons name and it brings up theie 100 words, manifesto, etc so you can have a look.

Only downside to the strathclyde elections, is its really who can rip off the famous brand/tv program the best.

[hr]

do you have a tastyspoon?

http://www.tastyspoon.com/forum

[atreus]

Quoting Midget from 01:04, 20th Mar 2006
There are always other commitments, essay deadlines are different for different departments. This is a bollocks argument. Surely more essays are due 24th Mar, like mine. Students have plenty of time. Its about laziness, apathy and disinterest. I sincerely doubt that students are too busy to do a little bit of research and then the 5mins it takes to vote.

I know people who came with me to vote, but refused to vote out of some twisted principle in their head; basically, they were uspet with the way the union is handled and believed that elected officials never did anything but bicker amongst themselves. I think its more of a problem of communication and timing (why was the election on St Patrick's day?). And students shouldn't have to search and research to get their information on canidates, it should be readily available.