Skip to main content
LOGO: Queen's Students' Union

 
Vote Smart

We've put together some information to explain some of the jargon that's used in the voting process.

We've also answered some frequently asked questions, so that it's all as clear cut as possible.

Your Students’ Union uses the Proportional Representational Single Transferable Vote (PR-STV). This is, more or less, the same system of voting that’s used in Northern Ireland Assembly elections. It’s designed to make sure that very few votes are wasted.

Let’s say you want to vote for Candidate A. You think that they’re pretty great and they’ll represent you and your views and make the changes happen that matter to you. When you log on to Queen’s Online select Candidate A as your ‘Number 1’. This means that they are your first preference.

You also like Candidate B and you think they might be good as well (but not as great as Candidate A.)

If you’d like Candidate B to get the position if Candidate A doesn’t make the cut, then select Candidate B as your ‘Number 2’. This means that they are your second preference.

You can continue along the list and give each candidate a preference if you like, or you can stop after your first preference. For example, if there are three Candidates, you can label them 1, 2 and 3.

If you don’t like any of the candidates, you can vote for RON (Re-Open Nominations)…

RON stands for Re-Open Nominations. If you don’t fancy any of the candidates running, then you can choose RON for a particular position.

If RON wins, that election will be reopened for that post at a later date and we’ll have another election.

For example, if you like Candidates A and B but you really don’t want C, label your ballot paper like this:

Students' Union President  
Candidate A 1
Candidate B 2
Candidate C  
RON (Reopen Nominations) 3

This means that none of your votes will get transferred to Candidate C (more about that below in 'How is my vote used?').

You’ve voted - good stuff! Now, let’s move on to the results.

We use a special formula to work out the ‘quota’. The quota is the number of votes that a candidate must get to guarantee that they are elected. This makes the election fair and it means that few votes are wasted.

To work out the quota we divide the total number of valid votes by two and then we add one.
Let’s imagine the number of valid votes cast is 4,000 for Students’ Union President. We then divide that by two, and then we add one. This means that the quota is 2,001.

So, we count the votes.

After the first count the results look something like this:

Students' Union President  
Candidate A 1500
Candidate B 1300
Candidate C 815
RON (Reopen Nominations) 385

The Candidate with the lowest amount of votes is eliminated. In this case, it’s RON. Bye, RON!

So RON’s votes are redistributed. This means that, for anyone who gave RON their ‘Number 1’ and Candidate A their ‘Number 2’, these votes aren’t wasted. Instead, their votes are transferred to Candidate A.

So, on the second count the table looks like this:

Students' Union President  
Candidate A 1685
Candidate B 1350
Candidate C 915

The Candidate with the lowest amount of votes is eliminated. This time it is Candidate C. So we then count again and distribute Candidate C’s votes.

So, on the third count the table looks like this:

Students' Union President  
Candidate A 2185
Candidate B 1500

You can see that Candidate A has reached the quota (which was 2,001). So Candidate A is elected on the third count. Whoop whoop!

Manifestos are The Candidates' pledges and promises and outline what they plan to do for you if they get elected.

Your Student Officer Team will represent you and over 25,000 other students and make real decisions that make a real impact on your lives.

It’s important to read the Candidates' manifestos so you can pick the best team to lead your Union.

It’s easy! Our Vote Step-By-Step page has all the info you need.

 
Then vote from 7am, 24 Feb – 5pm, 25 Feb at qubsu.org.
Queen's Students' Union
Queen's Students' Union