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richard-crook
14th March 2013

Candidates hit out at election rules

Open letter started by Colin Cortbus and signed by numerous candidates reveals split
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TLDR

To The Returning Officer,                                                                                       12/03/2012

To The Trustees Of The University of Manchester,

To All Students And Whomever It May Concern,

Severe allegations of electoral malpractice have been raised in connection with the use of hired, personal or borrowed iPads and other portable electronic devices to gather votes. Students have complained about being harassed or intimidated into voting for certain candidates, being observed while voting, or having votes cast ‘on their behalf’ by others. Grave allegations have even been made that some candidates and/or campaigners have used iPads and other portable electronic devices to aggressively solicit votes from drunk students – unfit to give reasoned consent- at nightclubs and bars.

Part 2, Section 22, Subsection (d) of the Education Act 1994 states in Relation to Student Unions that “appointment to major union offices should be by election in a secret ballot in which all members are entitled to vote.” Operational Guidance from the Charity Commission also makes explicit that Student Union elections must be “fairly and properly conducted”.

We thus feel that the student electorate is entitled -morally, politically and legally- to make its wishes clear by means of free, secret and fair elections. Having the opportunity to cast your secret vote in your own space at a place and time of your own choosing and without being observed is a student’s basic, essential and inalienable electoral right. We cannot remain silent when this is at risk.

We feel that permitting, in any way, shape or form, the continued use of iPads or other electronic devices by candidates or campaigners for the gathering of votes risks severely and irrecoverably undermining the legitimacy, validity and fairness of these elections.

On the basis of our experiences and conversations with students, we know that an overwhelming majority of students feels that being urged to vote, there and then, on a candidate’s iPad or other electronic device is or can be a harassing, intimidating and intrusive experience, even where the candidate is well-intentioned, keeps an appropriate distance and abides by good practice. Furthermore, not every student will have the resolve to overtly reject candidates’ or campaigners’ urging them to vote there and then on such a device- some may simply and quietly oblige and vote in order to a void having to answer back or for fear of being seen as discourteous. There are simply too many grey areas and uncertainties to ever be duly certain that a student has fairly, freely and secretly cast their vote on candidate’ or campaigner’s device. Attempts to further train candidates or create stricter regulations on the use of iPads and other devices for gathering votes are very unlikely to be effective.

Candidates or Campaigners who may have committed intentional abuses knew very well that their conduct was in breach of electoral regulations and principles, and we have little confidence that such individuals will change their conduct. Moreover, there are simply too many student spaces, PC clusters, bars, nightclubs, common rooms (&cetera) to ever effectively control, enforce and verify the ‘appropriate’ use of iPads and other electronic devices to gather votes and detect abuses, no matter how genuine and well-resourced attempts to do so may be.

Allowing candidates and campaigners to use their own or hired iPads or other electronic devices also breaches the principles of equity and equality, severely disadvantaging candidates unable to afford such devices and affecting campaign spending regulations.

We thus urge the Students Union in the strongest possible terms to completely ban any future of use of hired, borrowed or privately owned iPads and other electronic devices by candidates and or their campaigners to gather votes. We urge the Students Union to conduct a robust, transparent and full investigation into all allegations of electoral malpractice and take strong, clear and appropriate action against any individual found to be breaching electoral procedure. We would also urge the Students’ Union to make every effort to identify the IP addresses of devices used to coerce students to vote, while drunk, in nightclubs or other localities and cancel the votes cast from these devices/IP addresses. Some candidates have already expressed their view that they might consider withdrawing from the election. It is imperative that trust in the electoral processes and outcomes is restored as a matter of urgency.

Yours faithfully,

Ellie Bradbury, Candidate (Wellbeing)

Natalie Chard, Candidate (Community) 

Charlotte Cook, Candidate (Community) 

Colin Cortbus, Candidate (General Secretary)

Clifford Fleming, Candidate (Campaigns) 

Philippa Hughes, Candidate (Campaigns & Citizenship) 

Susannah Law, Candidate (Womens’)

Lily Risby, Candidate (Wellbeing)

Jonathan Rowe, Candidate (Wellbeing)

Grace Skelton, Candidate (General Secretary)

Richard Crook

Richard Crook

Editor-in-chief at The Mancunion. E-mail me at [email protected].

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