elections
guidelines
• Election Guidelines • 1 scope
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2. Appointment of the Returning Officer 3. Powers of the Returning Officer 4. Election process
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4.1. Election timetable 4.2. Method of elections 4.3. Paper Elections 4.4. Online Elections 4.5. Nominations 4.6. Candidates meeting 4.7. Manifestos 4.8. Hustings 4.9. Polling Area 4.10. Candidates publicity and campaign 4.11. The Count 4.12. Paper Count 4.13. Online Count 4.14. Challenge to the validity of an election 4.15. Complaints about candidates
Referendum Guidelines 1. Scope 2. Appointment of the Returning Officer 3. Powers of the Returning Officer 4. Referendum process
4.1. Timetable 4.2. Method of referendum 4.3. Paper Referendum 4.4. Online Referendum 4.5. The Question 4.6. Campaigning 4.7. Campaign publicity 4.8. Debate 4.9.Voting 4.10. Complaints 4.11. The Count 4.12. Paper Count 4.13. Online Count 4.14. Declaration
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Election Guidelines 1. Scope
1.1. These guidelines shall apply for all elections conducted by secret cross-campus ballot using the Single Transferable Vote (STV) as defined 30 days prior to the commencement of the ballot by the Electoral Reform Society. 1.2. There shall be elections to the following positions: 1.2.1. Sabbatical Trustees; 1.2.2. Student Trustees; 1.2.3. Student Assembly members; 1.2.4. NUS Conference delegates; 1.2.5. and others as so deemed. 2. Appointment of the Returning Officer
2.1. The Returning Officer shall be appointed according to Bye Law 2. 3. Powers of the Returning Officer
3.1. The Returning Officer shall have the authority to appoint Deputy Returning Officers as necessary. 3.2. The Returning Officer shall have the authority to appoint and delegate duties to such election officials as are required to ensure the good administration and promotion of the election. These election officials shall be instructed by the Returning Officer on their duties and shall perform them in an impartial manner. 3.3. The Returning Officer may remove officials who are not carrying out the Returning Officer’s instructions or acting in an impartial manner. 3.4. The Returning Officer can rule out of order any statement or the contents of any publicity which in their view is in breach of the Regulations or Policies of Goldsmiths Students’ Union. 3.5. The Returning Officer or their nominee or the Hearing Panel is the sole official(s) competent to deal with complaints about the conduct and administration of the election. 3.6. In determining a complaint, the Returning Officer, after hearing all the appropriate evidence, may not uphold the complaint or may halt the election for specified post(s) or may convene a Hearing Panel to determine the outcome of the complaint or disqualify specified candidate(s) if, in their view, a candidate has breached these guidelines. 3.7. The ruling of the Returning Officer or the Hearing Panel on any complaint shall be final.
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4.1. Election timetable 4.1.1. The Returning Officer shall ensure an election timetable is produced that shall include the dates and times for the notification and completion of the following: 4.1.1.1. nomination process; 4.1.1.2. candidates meeting; 4.1.1.3. manifestos; 4.1.1.4. question time (also referred to as hustings); 4.1.1.5. voting; and
4.1.1.6. the count. 4.1.2. The election timetable shall be published and adequately circulated with materials promoting the election. 4.1.3. The election timetable shall be of a sufficient length to ensure the highest level of participation in the election 4.2. Method of elections 4.2.1. The Returning Officer in consultation with the Trustees will decide the method of election. 4.2.2. The method of election can either be a paper election or an online election. 4.3. Paper Elections 4.3.1. All ballot boxes shall be sealed or locked by the Returning Officer or the Deputy Returning Officer in the presence of two witnesses before the first day of polling and shall not be opened until the count. 4.3.3. The polling officials shall, within the times specified in the notice of elections, issue to each member of the Union entitled to vote, a ballot paper. No ballot paper may be issued without the production of a current College enrolment card. The voter’s name will be deleted from the roll when the ballot paper has been issued. 4.3.4. All ballot papers must be sequentially numbered by the nominees of the Returning Officer. 4.3.4. The length of polling shall be decided by the Returning Officer in consultation with the Trustees 4.3.5. Each candidate shall have the right to have a manifesto with a passport-sized photo posted at each polling station. Permitted that the candidate submitted their manifesto before the publicity deadline prescribed by the Returning Officer. 4.3.6. Each polling station shall be staffed by people approved by the Returning Officer and the Deputy Returning Officer. 4.3.7. If a voter spoils a ballot paper and returns the paper to the polling officials, a new ballot paper shall be issued and the spoilt one marked as ‘spoilt’ and returned for verification at the count. These spoilt ballot papers must not be placed in the ballot box 4.3.8. Candidate’s names shall be listed on the paper ballot in an alphabetical order of candidate’s last name. This will also determine the running order of speeches at hustings. 4.3.9. In case of a paper election, proxy votes will only be permissible for the following reasons 4.3.9.1. If a student cannot physically vote at polling station due to educational reasons 4.3.9.2. If a student cannot physically vote at polling station due to unforeseen circumstances 4.3.9.3. If either of the above cases apply the student would need to contact the returning officer in writing 2 days before the close of voting explaining the grounds on which they would like to apply for a proxy. 4.3.9.4. The Returning Officer decisions regarding whether or not to grant the proxy is final.
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4.4. Online Elections 4.4.1. Online elections shall be conducted by an ethically sourced organisation, which will be chosen by the Trustees in consultation with the Returning Officer. 4.4.2. All the information passed onto the company conducting the election will be treated under the data protection act. 4.4.3. Votes will be casted on an Electronic Ballot Sheet also referred to as ESB 4.4.4. Eligible voters may need to enter unique security details, to be able to access the ESB. 4.4.5. The types of unique security details will be decided by the Returning Officer. 4.4.6. Only the first valid vote will be recorded. 4.4.7. The length of polling shall be decided by the Returning Officer. 4.4.8. Voters may vote online at anytime during the designated voting period, as decided by the Returning Officer. 4.4.9. Dedicated polling stations may be made available at the discretion of the Returning Officer and the Deputy Returning Officer, for specified times during the election period. 4.4.10. Each polling station shall be staffed by people approved by the Returning Officer and the Deputy Returning Officer. 4.4.11. Each candidate shall have the right to have a manifesto with a passport-sized photo linked to the ESB. Permitted that the candidate submitted their manifesto before the publicity deadline prescribed by the Returning Officer. 4.4.12. Candidates or anyone acting on their behalf are strictly prohibited from creating a ballot box. 4.4.13. Candidate’s names shall be listed on the electronic ballot sheet in an alphabetical order of last name. This will also determine the running order of speeches at hustings. 4.5. Nominations 4.5.1. All full members of the Union are eligible to stand for any Union Office. 4.5.2. Nomination forms will be available as the Returning Officer determines. 4.5.3. All nominations must be proposed and seconded by a Full Member of Goldsmiths Students’ Union. 4.5.4. Full Members may propose or second a candidate but may only propose or second one candidate for each election to a specific position. 4.5.5. The Returning Officer or nominee shall have the sole responsibility of declaring a submitted nomination form valid. In the event of two or more candidates having the same proposer or seconder in an election for a single position, the Returning Officer or nominee may allow up to 24 hours for the candidate(s) to find fresh proposers or seconders. 4.5.6. When the Returning Officer is satisfied all valid nominations will be confirmed with the candidates.
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4.6. Candidates meeting 4.6.1. The Returning Officer or their nominee shall arrange a meeting to take place and all candidates must attend. Failure to attend shall result, at the discretion of the Returning Officer, in the candidate being deemed to have withdrawn from the election. 4.6.2. The meeting shall include briefings on issues such as the role of trustees and campaigning tips, and will be the only opportunity for candidates to check their entry on the ballot form prior to it going to print or being published online.
4.7. Manifestos 4.7.1. Manifestos must be submitted to Returning Officer, or their nominee, at a time and in a form determined by the Returning officer. 4.7.2. Manifestos will be of no more than one side of A4 in length. 4.7.3. Manifestos shall be displayed in appropriate areas as decided. 4.8. Hustings 4.8.1. The Returning Officer shall arrange hustings for the candidates, as deemed appropriate. 4.8.2. Questions must be directed to all candidates standing for the post. Questions which are not directed to all candidates will not be allowed. 4.8.3. The length of speeches and responses by candidates to questions shall be determined by one the Returning Officer or their nominee. 4.8.4. The Husting will be chaired by the Returning Officer or their nominee. 4.9. Polling Area 4.9.1. The size of the polling areas must be made clear to all candidates by the Deputy Returning Officer before the beginning of polling, and the size of the polling area is at the discretion of the Deputy Returning Officer. 4.9.2. The polling area shall extend at minimum, so far as line of sight from the polling station. 4.9.3. During polling there shall be no campaigning or campaign material within the polling station areas, with the exception of the candidates’ manifestos. 4.9.4. No one may harass polling officials or election staff in order to gain information about patterns of voting. 4.10. Candidates publicity and campaign 4.10.1. There shall be no publicity other than is allowed for under these regulations. 4.10.2. Candidate’s publicity must conform to the Union’s Equal Opportunities Policy. 4.10.3. Candidates may not use any of their publicity material before the close of nominations. 4.10.4. All publicity material will need to be approved by the Deputy Returning Officer. 4.10.5. All publicity once approved will be monitored throughout the election period. 4.10.6. Candidates may not campaign or put publicity on public property without permission from the relevant person. 4.10.7. All candidates’ publicity shall publicise one candidate only, with only one candidate’s photograph. 4.10.8. Double plat-forming (candidates campaigning as a team or on behalf of each other) is strictly prohibited. 4.10.9. Candidates may not canvass within the college libraries or areas known as computer laboratories or study areas. 4.10.10. At the discretion of the Returning Officer each candidate shall be entitled to a maximum of 4.10.10.1. 15 single sided A3 size posters 4.10.10.2. 15 single sided A4 size posters 4.10.10.3. Either 250 single sided A5 size flyers or 500 A6 single sided A6 flyers. 4.10.11. All posters used must be stamped, signed and numbered by the Deputy Returning
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Officer. 4.10.12. Poster’s and other campaign material may not use the College, Union or affiliated logos to endorse their campaign. 4.10.13. Flyers may not be used as posters 4.10.14. Candidates may produce a website, but content must be viewed by the Deputy Returning Officer before being promoted. The College and Union website shall in no case be linked to a candidate’s website. 4.10.15. Social networking groups may be utilised for election campaigning purposes, provided that it relates to one candidate only and that the content is approved in advance by the Deputy Returning Officer. Furthermore, the Deputy Returning Officer has to be sent an invite to join the group and has to be included in any messages sent from that group. These entries will be monitored throughout the campaign. 4.10.16. Candidates and their supporters are allowed to send bulk mobile text messages and emails as long as they include or carbon copy (CC) the Returning Officer and the Deputy Returning Officer into the text message or email. Only one candidate may be mentioned. 4.10.17. Affiliated Clubs and Societies shall not financially assist any candidates in a Union election in any manner. However, committee members of Clubs and Societies may support individual candidates, provided that they only publicise one candidate at a time. Any such material must be sent to the Deputy Returning Officer. 4.10.20. No remarks defamatory of any person in the College shall be included in election publicity. No election publicity shall be removed from any notice board by persons other than the Returning Officer or Deputy Returning Officer. 4.10.21. Candidate’s publicity shall not cause damage to any Union, College or public property. 4.10.22. Lecture shouts and speeches are permitted. 4.10.23. Maximum of 10 badges is permitted but must be put on people only. 4.10.24. Maximum of 2 Items of clothing publicising a candidate are permitted but must be put on people only. 4.10.25. No one shall bribe or treat any eligible voter, or anyone assisting in the conduct of an election in any way. 4.10.26. Any publicity directly or indirectly supporting a candidate shall be deemed to be that candidate’s election publicity and therefore must be declared to the Deputy Returning Officer. 4.10.27. Harassment, intimidation or bullying of any potential voter, is strictly prohibited an infringement of this regulation will be regarded as a serious offence.
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4.11. The Count 4.11.1. All counts shall take place within 24 hours of the close of polling, where possible. 4.11.2. In the event of a tie, there shall be a further election between the candidates with the tied number of votes. 4.11.3. No results will be deemed valid unless it is approved and authorised by the Returning Officer. 4.11.4.The procedure of the count will be dependent upon the method of the election utilised, in case of paper election please refer to paper count in case of an online election please refer to online count.
4.12. Paper Count 4.12.1. The Returning Officer shall appoint a Superintendent for the count who will normally be the Deputy Returning Officer. The Returning Officer and the Superintendent will appoint as many counting officer’s as they see fit. 4.12.2. The Returning Officer and the Superintendent of the count shall direct the count in accordance with the Union’s Constitution, and these Regulations. 4.12.3. The candidates or their representatives may attend the count as observers and shall have the right to a recount if the majority of the successful candidate is less than the number of spoilt ballot papers, otherwise there may be a recount at the direction of the Returning Officer. 4.12.4. If there is any dispute as to how a particular ballot paper is to be counted, the Returning Officer must decide, observing where possible the intent of the voter, otherwise the ballot paper is deemed to have been spoilt. 4.12.5. Once the count has been conducted, the used ballot papers must be kept under lock and key, by the Returning Officer or the Deputy Returning Officer until two months after the close of polling, and then destroyed. 4.13. Online Count 4.13.1. The online count will be conducted by the company that was selected to carry out the election on behalf of the Union. 4.13.2. The company selected to carry out the election on behalf of the Union will provide a breakdown of the election results. 4.13.3. All votes recorded will be confidential and no names of eligible voters will be revealed. 4.13.4. The results will be checked by the Returning Officer prior to the official declaration of results.
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4.14. Challenge to the validity of an election 4.14.1. No challenge to the validity of an election shall be considered unless it is made in writing, to the Returning Officer or the Deputy Returning Officer, within one working day of the official declaration of the result. 4.14.2. A petition challenging the validity of an election shall state the grounds on which the election is alleged to be invalid and shall be accompanied by such evidence as appropriate. 4.14.3. The Returning Officer may dismiss the petition or otherwise he/she shall inform the successful candidate of the matters contained in the petition and afford him/her the opportunity to respond. 4.14.4. The Returning Officer may determine the dispute without a hearing, or may conduct a hearing at which the petitioner(s) and successful candidate may give evidence and/or call witnesses. 4.14.5. Candidates shall have the right to appeal to the college; all appeals would need to be made in writing within 5 working days of the decision made by the Returning Officer or the Hearing Panel. 4.15. Complaints about candidates
4.15.1. No complaints about a candidate or their campaigners will be considered unless it is made in writing to the Returning Officer or to the Deputy Returning Officer together with supporting evidence,
within 30 minutes of the close of polls.
4.15.2. No complaints will be considered unless sufficient evidence is provided. 4.15.3. The Returning Officer on receipt of the complaint may determine the outcome of the complaint without a hearing or launch an investigation to determine whether or not to hold a hearing. 4.15.4. The Returning officer or the Deputy Returning Officer shall communicate with the complainant within 4 hours of receiving the complaint the procedures. 4.15.4. In the case of a hearing, the complainant(s) and the defendant(s) will be required to attend the hearing. Furthermore, the complaint(s) and defendant(s) will have the right to call witnesses. 4.15.5. The membership of the Hearing Panel will consist of the Returning Officer, Deputy Returning Officer, and two people appointed by the Returning Officer, one of who shell act a Secretary and the other will be a Member of the Hearing Panel. 4.15.6. Members of the Hearing Panel shall have the power to decide and implement any sanction which it may deem necessary on any matter or complaint concerning an alleged breach of election regulations as laid down in these guidance. 4.15.7. The decision of the hearing panel in any such matter shall be final. 4.15.8. If a complaint is received and is found to be malicious in intent, the complainant may be subjected to the disciplinary process. 4.15.9. If the defendant is found guilty, then more than one of the following sanctions can be imposed. 4.15.9.1. Formal reprimand (maximum 3) 4.15.9.2. Removal of campaign member 4.15.9.3. Confiscation of campaigning material and publicity 4.15.9.4. Limitation of campaigning material and publicity 4.15.9.5. Limitation of campaigning hours 4.15.9.6. Disqualification from the election 4.15.9.7. Referral to the college for College Disciplinary proceedings 4.15.10. Candidates shall have the right to appeal to the college; all appeals would need to be made in writing within 5 working days of the decision made by the Returning Officer or the Hearing Panel.
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Referendum Guidelines 1. Scope
1.1. These guidelines shall apply for all referenda conducted by secret cross-campus ballot. 1.2. Referenda can be called in accordance with guidelines set out in the Articles of Association and Bye-Laws 2. Appointment of the Returning Officer
The Returning Officer shall be appointed according to Bye Law (2). 3. Powers of the Returning Officer
3.1. The Returning Officer shall have the authority to appoint Deputy returning Officers as necessary. 3.2. The Returning Officer shall have the authority to appoint and delegate duties to such election officials as are required to ensure the good administration and promotion of the referendum. These referendum officials shall be instructed by the Returning Officer on their duties and shall perform them in an impartial manner. 3.3. The Returning Officer may remove officials who are not carrying out the Returning Officer’s instructions or acting in an impartial manner. 3.4. The Returning Officer can rule out of order any statement or the contents of any publicity which in their view is in breach of the Regulations or Policies of Goldsmiths Students’ Union. 3.5. The Returning Officer or their nominee is the sole official competent to deal with complaints about the conduct and administration of the referendum. 3.6. In determining a complaint, the Returning Officer, after hearing all the appropriate evidence, may not uphold the complaint or may halt the referendum. 3.7. The ruling of the Returning Officer on any complaint shall be final. 4. Referendum process
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4.1. Timetable 4.1.1. The Returning Officer shall ensure a referendum timetable is produced that shall include the dates and times for the notification and completion of the following: 4.1.1.1. debates; 4.1.1.2. voting; and 4.1.1.3. the count. 4.1.2. The referendum timetable shall be published and adequately circulated with materials promoting the referendum. 4.1.3. The referendum timetable shall be of a sufficient length to ensure the highest level of participation in the referendum. 4.2. Method of referendum 4.2.1. The Returning Officer in consultation with the Trustees will decide the method of referendum. 4.2.2. The method of referendum can either be a paper referendum or an online referendum.
4.3. Paper Referendum 4.3.1. All ballot boxes shall be sealed or locked by the Returning Officer or the Deputy Returning Officer in the presence of two witnesses before the first day of polling and shall not be opened until the count. 4.3.3. The polling officials shall, within the times specified in the notice of elections, issue to each member of the Union entitled to vote, a ballot paper. No ballot paper may be issued without the production of a current College enrolment card. The voter’s name will be deleted from the roll when the ballot paper has been issued. 4.3.4. All ballot papers must be sequentially numbered by the Deputy Returning Officer. 4.3.4. The length of polling shall be decided by the Returning Officer in consultation with the Trustees 4.3.5. Each polling station shall be staffed by people approved by the Returning Officer and the Deputy Returning Officer. 4.3.6. If a voter spoils a ballot paper and returns the paper to the polling officials, a new ballot paper shall be issued and the spoilt one marked as ‘spoilt’ and returned for verification at the count. These spoilt ballot papers must not be placed in the ballot box 4.3.9. Candidates names shall be listed on the ballot paper in an order determined by lot at the campaigners meeting by the Returning Officer or the Deputy Returning Officer. 4.4. Online Referendum 4.4.1. Online referendums may be conducted by an ethically sourced organisation, which will be chosen by the Trustees in consultation with the Returning Officer or it may be conducted electronically by the Union. 4.4.2. All the information passed onto the company conducting the election will be treated under the data protection act. 4.4.3. Votes will be casted on an Electronic Ballot Sheet also referred to as ESB 4.4.4. Eligible voters may need to enter unique security details, to be able to access the ESB. 4.4.5. The types of unique security details will be decided by the Returning Officer. 4.4.6. Only the first valid vote will be recorded. 4.4.7. The length of polling shall be decided by the Returning Officer. 4.4.8. Voters may vote online at anytime during the designated voting period, as decided by the Returning Officer. 4.4.9. Dedicated polling stations may be made available at the discretion of the Returning Officer and the Deputy Returning Officer, for specified times during the election period. 4.4.10. Each polling station shall be staffed by people approved by the Returning Officer and the Deputy Returning Officer. 4.4.11. Candidates or anyone acting on their behalf are strictly prohibited from creating a ballot box. 4.4.12. Candidate’s names shall be listed on the electronic ballot sheet in an order determined by lot at the campaigners meeting by the Returning Officer or the Deputy Returning Officer.
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4.5. The Question 4.5.1. The referendum Question shall be set by the Trustee board or Student Assembly in
line with the Articles of Association and Bye Laws 4.5.2. The Question shall be succinct and demand a simple yes or no answer. 4.6. Campaigning 4.6.1. The Returning Officer shall arrange a meeting to take place for all campaigners to attend. 4.6.2. The meeting shall include briefings on the issue and campaigning guidelines. 4.7. Campaign publicity 4.7.1. The Returning officer will produce an unbiased document outlining the issue being voted on and offering both campaigns an opportunity to outline their viewpoint. 4.7.2. The Yes and No campaigns shall each be allowed 100 A4 copies free of charge 4.7.3. Originals must be left at the Union reception. Requests submitted before 2pm may be collected after 4pm that day, those submitted after 2pm will be available from 10am the following day. 4.7.4. Each Campaign may produce other publicity to campaign with up to a limit of £100. All receipts must be submitted to the Returning Officer prior to the count. 4.7.5. If you are intending to use a website or email you should be aware that you must abide by the College’s regulations on the use of their email and server systems. 4.7.6. The Returning Officer will need to be sent URLs for all online publicity. 4.7.6. Campaigners will not use stickers as they cause damage and are a nuisance. 4.7.7. Any publicity which breaches Union policy or that is ruled by the Returning Officer to be inappropriate will be removed. Any publicity displayed in a manner that may contravene health and safety regulations will be removed, as will publicity fixed to walls by tape or glue. Any damage will be charged to the candidate.
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4.8. Debate 4.8.1. The Returning Officer shall arrange an open debate as deemed appropriate, where both sides of the argument will be presented. 4.8.2. The length of speeches and responses by candidates to questions shall be determined by one of the Assistant Returning Officers who shall be Chair. 4.9.Voting 4.9.1. In case of a paper referendum 4.9.1.1. The Returning Officer shall publicise the location and arrangements for voting. 4.9.1.2. All full members of the Union may vote upon production of valid identification as determined by the Returning officer. 4.9.1.3. Voting papers shall bear the name of each candidate and the office being contested. 4.9.1.4. Campaigners may not canvass voters whilst in the process of casting their vote. 4.9.2. In case of an online referendum 4.9.2.1. The Returning officer shall have the discretion to have a polling area. 4.9.2.2. The Returning officer shall publice the arrangements for online voting 4.9.2.3. Votes will be casted on an Electronic Ballot Sheet (ESB) 4.9.2.4. ESBs shall bear the name of each candidate and the office being contested. 4.9.2.5. Campaigners may not canvass voters whilst in the process of casting their vote.
4.10. Complaints 4.10.1. Any complaints regarding the conduct of the referendum shall be submitted in writing to the Returning Officer before the start of the count. The Returning Officer shall decide on any complaints. 4.11. The Count 4.11.1. All counts shall take place within 24 hours of the close of polling, where possible. 4.11.2. In the event of a tie, there shall be a further referendum between the candidates with the tied number of votes. 4.11.3. No results will be deemed valid unless it is approved and authorised by the Returning Officer. 4.11.4.The procedure of the count will be dependent upon the method of the referendum utilised, in case of a paper referendum please refer to paper count in case of an online referendum please refer to online count. 4.11.5. The Count will be conducted according to guidelines laid down by the Electoral Reform Society. 4.12. Paper Count 4.12.1. The Returning Officer shall appoint a Superintendent for the count who will normally be the Deputy Returning Officer. The Returning Officer and the Superintendent will appoint as many counting officer’s as they see fit. 4.12.2. The Returning Officer and the Superintendent of the count shall direct the count in accordance with the Union’s Constitution, and these guidelines. 4.12.3. The candidates or their representatives may attend the count as observers and shall have the right to a recount if the majority of the successful candidate is less than the number of spoilt ballot papers, otherwise there may be a recount at the direction of the Returning Officer. 4.12.4. If there is any dispute as to how a particular ballot paper is to be counted, the Returning Officer must decide, observing where possible the intent of the voter, otherwise the ballot paper is deemed to have been spoilt. 4.12.5. Once the count has been conducted, the used ballot papers must be kept under lock and key, by the Returning Officer or the Deputy Returning Officer until two months after the close of polling, and then destroyed. 4.12.6. The count will commence only if the Returning Officer is satisfied that all complaints relating to the conduct and administration of the election have been resolved. 4.12.7. Complaints after the count has commenced may only relate to the conduct of the count. Complaints should be in writing to the Returning Officer and must be submitted within seven days of the count.
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4.13. Online Count 4.13.1. The online count will be conducted by a company that was selected to carry out the referendum on behalf of the Union or by an electronic method agreed by the Returning Officer in consultation with the Trustees. 4.13.2. The company selected to carry out the referendum on behalf of the Union will provide a breakdown of the election results or if the an electronic method was used by the
Union, the Union will provide a breakdown of the results. 4.13.3. All votes recorded will be confidential and no names of eligible voters will be revealed. 4.13.4. The results will be checked by the Returning Officer prior to the official declaration of results. 4.13.5. The count will commence only if the Returning Officer is satisfied that all complaints relating to the conduct and administration of the election have been resolved. 4.13.6. Complaints after the count has commenced may only relate to the conduct of the count. Complaints should be in writing to the Returning Officer and must be submitted within seven days of the count. 4.14. Declaration 4.14.1. The Returning Officer shall declare results of the referendum when the count for each post has been successfully completed. 4.14.2. Results of the referendum shall then be posted via appropriate communication channels.
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