5 referenda

Bye-Law 5 of Bucks Students’ Union:

REFERENDA

January 2019

REFERENDA 1. Referenda shall be conducted in accordance with the Bucks Students’ Union Constitution clauses 19-22 and all Bye-Laws.

Occurrence 2. Any question, save those relating to private and confidential matters, or those for which alternative procedures are established in the Union’s constitution or its Bye-Laws, may be put to a referendum.

3. Phrasing the question to be put to a referendum shall be the responsibility of the Returning Officer, who shall consult with the Elections Planning Committee on the matter, however the referenda request should ensure that responses can be gauged by a ‘Yes/No’ vote.

4. As per Clause 19 of the Bucks Students’ Union Constitution, a referendum may be called by: 4.1. a resolution of the Trustees; 4.2. a majority vote of the Union Council; 4.3. a Secure Petition signed by at least 200 Members.

5. Referenda requests shall state the names of the Proposer and Seconder of the motion to be the subject.

6. Signatures constituting the Referenda Petition to the President shall only be valid if accompanied by proof of ordinary membership status of the Union (e.g.

University I.D. number) 7. Petitions should also provide a contact name and address, to which acknowledgement of the petition may be sent. On receipt of a petition for a referendum, the President shall notify the Returning Officer, who shall forward written acknowledgement of receipt to the contact name and address provided.

8. No questions of like nature shall be put to a referendum within 12 calendar months of a previous referendum.

Notification 9. The Returning Officer shall give at least 15 working days notification of a referendum.

10. Objections must be lodged with the Returning Officer no later than two working days after notification and shall be ruled upon no later than three working days after notification. If necessary, the Returning Officer shall issue revised notification no later than four working days after the original notification.

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11. Notification shall be given on the Students’ Union website and highlighted to members by email and shall include: 11.1. the subject and exact motion of the Referenda 11.2. information on how to lodge objections with the Returning Officer 11.3. information on how to vote (e.g. links to online voting and the times at which the poll is open) 12. Publicity shall be distributed to all campuses of the University and online no later than seven working days before the poll.

Debate 13. The Returning Officer will call at least one open debate at which interested parties may debate the question to be put to a referendum, in order to inform the Union membership of the issues involved, between the official notification of a Referendum and voting.

14. Both sides shall, at the start of the meeting, be entitled to speak for an allotted time.

15. All questions must be addressed to both sides of the debate.

Coordinating Committees 16. A Referendum Coordinating Committee shall be appointed by those full time members of Bucks Students’ Union who inform the Returning Officer, no later than 5 working days after the notification of the poll, that they either wish to support or oppose the motion to be the subject. There shall be one committee for those opposing the motion and one for those supporting the motion.

17. Each Referendum Coordinating Committee shall be responsible for the actions of its supporters.

18. Each Referendum Coordinating Committee shall appoint a Chair and inform the Returning Officer. Each Chair shall be made aware of the Students’ Union Constitution and regulations, particularly with regard to quorum.

Voting 19. All referenda shall be conducted by open cross campus ballot in a manner approved by the electoral reform society. The question shall be determined by the means of a Yes/No vote.

20. Only full members of Bucks Students’ Union may be eligible to vote.

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21. Ballot boxes shall be open for at least the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the third full week after receipt of the petition.

22. Polling stations clerked by Students’ Union Staff shall be made available at the discretion of the Returning Officer in consultation with Union Council. No member of a Referendum Coordinating Committee shall preside at or over a polling station. No open support may be given at a ballot box.

23. A copy of a manifesto for each Referendum Coordinating Committee shall be made available online.

Returning Officer and Elections Planning Committee 24. Elections Planing Committee shall act as Elections Committee for the duration of the Referendum, overseeing the general conduct of the referendum to ensure a balanced debate.

25. Elections Planing Committee shall meet as often as necessary during Referenda.

The Referendum Coordinating Committees’ Chairs shall be invited to attend such meetings.

26. Any sabbatical officer attending meetings of the Elections Planning Committee shall have their membership of the Committee temporarily suspended if they are considered to have partial interest by a simple majority of Elections Planing Committee, excluding the member in question.

27. No member of Elections Planning Committee, except the Referendum Coordinating Committees’ Chairs, or Students’ Union staff shall openly express any opinion about the Referendum Coordinating Committee during the course of the Referendum.

28. The Returning Officer for referenda will normally be an external professional supplied by the National Union of Students or a senior manager of the Students’ Union.

29. Elections Planning Committee shall have the power to appoint Deputy Returning Officers to assist in the poll, the count, the preparation of the Referenda and the chairing of debates.

Financial Support 30. No Union funded resources, except for room bookings, shall be made available for referendum campaign activity. Use of Union facilities for referendum campaign activity shall be subject to the standard scale charge(s) applicable.

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Publicity 31. Elections Planning Committee, along with the Returning Officer, shall make appropriate arrangements for publicising the referendum on all sites of the University.

32. No campaign team may interfere with campaign publicity.

Quoracy and Requirements 33. As detailed in the Constitution there are different thresholds for quoracy in different types of referenda.

33.1. All resolutions may only be passed by referendum if at least 5% of the membership cast a vote in the Referendum.

33.2. If the resolution is to make an amendment to the constitution a 66% majority is required to be successful.

33.3. All other resolutions require a simple majority to succeed

Count 34. The count shall occur as soon as is practicable after the close of poll, normally on the Friday after the close of poll, unless Elections Planning Committee should find reason to delay the count.

35. Each Referendum Coordinating Committee will be permitted to nominate one individual to monitor the count on their behalf who shall not assist in the count.

36. The Returning Officer shall rule on whether a ballot paper is determined “Spoilt”.

37. The Returning Officer, at their discretion, may initiate a recount and subsequent recounts.

38. Referendum Coordinating Committees are entitled to a recount if requested, and discretion is given to the Returning Officer to initiate subsequent recounts.

39. The result of the poll shall normally be declared first to the coordinating committees and then publicly.

40. The result of the poll shall be published, regardless of the turnout, as soon as reasonably practicable after the result is declared.

41. Voting papers shall not be destroyed until after the deadline has passed for an appeal to be lodged. In the event of such an appeal, voting papers shall not be destroyed until after the emergency meeting of Elections Planning Committee.

42. A motion shall fail in a Referendum in the event of a tie.

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43. Subject to the provisions of this section of the constitution, the outcome of any questions put to a referendum shall be known by the third week, counting from the Monday after the resolution of the Board of Trustees, or Receipt of the petition.

Board of Trustees 44. As per Clause 22, 58, 60 and 61 of the Bucks Students’ Union Constitution, the Board of Trustees may override any decision or policy made by referendum which the trustees consider (in their absolute discretion): 44.1. has or may have financial implications for the Union; 44.2. is or may be in breach of, contrary to or otherwise inconsistent with charity or education law or any other legal requirements (including ultra vires); 44.3. is not or may not be in the best interests of the Union or any or all of its charitable objectives; or 44.4. will or may otherwise affect the discharge of any or all of the responsibilities of the Trustee Board.

Grievances 45. Elections Planning Committee shall act as a body to which full members of the Students’ Union, either as a group or as individuals, may take grievances concerning any aspect of the conduct of Referenda, including individual campaigns. Such grievances shall be made in writing to the Returning Officer.

Appeals 46. An appeal against the validity of the poll shall be submitted to Governance Committee by at least 50 persons entitled to vote. Such a submission must be made no later than 3 working days after the close of poll and must contain the reasons for the appeal. Governance Committee shall deliberate and make recommendations on such issues to the Returning Officer.

Complaints 47. Any complaint on the conduct of the referendum or of any violation of ByeLaw 5: Referenda, shall be made in writing to the Returning Officer before the start of the count or, in the case of a complaint relating to the count, within five clear working days from the announcement of results. The Returning Officer shall make any recommendations they may see fit to the Trustee Board.

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48. Any party who is declared to have won and against whom a complaint is lodged shall be deemed successful until a decision is made on the complaint.

49. All results of referenda shall be reported by the next meeting of the Trustee Board. The Returning Officer shall keep all papers pertaining to the referendum until this meeting, or for one calendar month or until the complaint has been resolved, whichever is the longer period.

Review 50. Bye-Law 5: Referenda will be reviewed on an annual basis by the Students’ Union Governance Committee in consultation with Elections Planning Committee and any other staff/officers involved in the administration of elections.

End Appendix 1 Referenda Timeline (all numbers are in working days) (-13)

Resolution of Trustee Board or Reception of Secure 200 member petition

(-12)

Returning Officer to give minimum 12 working days notice of referenda

(-12) to (-1) Debate the referenda (-10)

Objections to be lodged with Returning Officer

(-9)

Objections ruled upon

(-8)

Returning Officer to re-issue notification of referenda if needed

(-7)

Referendum Coordinating Committee appointed

(-7)

Publicity to all campuses

(0)

Start of polling, Minimum days Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday

(+4)

Conduct complaints before count starts

(+4)

Count after close of polling

(+5)

Results published

(+7)

Appeals against validity of the poll

(+10)

Count conduct complaints

(+40)

Keep papers until complaints resolved or one month after announcement, whichever is longer

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