Students’ Union Elections in 2014 Headline stats & learning points Jamie Scudamore

This is not whole answer Elections are seen as the be all and end all when it comes to engagement, they aren’t. But when it comes to measuring engagement, they are one of the key measures available. Go to smarter people to talk about democracy.

What happened

Mean Turnout

Expenditure

Voting Time

What happened? The Good Numbers are up! Fewer complaints and exclusions More women than ever before* More data from online voting Institutions broadly supportive

What happened? The Bad A lot of hard work for marginal increases Women still only make up 41% Presidents Other groups stagnant Voter coercion/intimidation Dodgy data

The Ugly… 4 out of 5 students don’t care enough to click a button What happened? The Ugly… 4 out of 5 students don’t care enough to click a button

Issues from 2014 Data sets Mix of online and paper Mobile Voting Devices Social media (closed groups) Endorsements

Rules Principles Don’t tear them up every year If you can’t police it, get rid of it If you can’t sanction against it, get rid of it If it has no impact, get rid of it If you legislate, people think it’s vital Remember that equality of opportunity is not the same as forcing all candidates to be equal; they’re not! Usually, the fewer rules, the better!

Making elections a positive experience Annoying Rules “Coming to the candidate’s briefing is ESSENTIAL. Failure to attend will result in disqualification” (you’ll regret saying that). “No one can discuss their candidacy prior to campaigning” (doesn’t do anyone any good) “Incumbents can’t be mentioned/criticised and other sabbaticals can’t express a view”

Making elections a positive experience Yet more annoying rules…. No slates (de-politicising the elections) No campaigning in the union building (???) Candidates can spend whatever they want Deducted votes used as a disciplinary measure Multiple deadlines

What do we do?

NUS Elections Support Service What’s the background? Independent national body Provides assurance to institutions that regulatory obligations under Education Act are met Sharing best practice across the wider movement  

NUS Elections Support Service How do we make decisions? Panel to advise Returning Officer on more complex decisions Consistency in the ‘big’ decisions – exclusions, re-running elections and conducting investigations NUS Contact – keeping a familiar face for unions  

NUS Elections Support Service How does it work? Returning Officer announced in September (Emma Powell gone) along with detailed election report – you can still put in data until and of the month! NUS’ internal panel supported by network of NUS Contacts and Deputy Returning Officers on campus Maintain link between you and the RO through your NUS Contact – sharing local context and knowledge of rules and regulations