The Count
The Count in The Election 2021 will take place from 3:00pm on Friday 12 March after voting closes. Results will then be announced later that day.
How do we count votes for candidates in SU Elections?
The count is overseen by the Returning Officer – Peter Robertson, Deputy Chief Executive Membership and the Deputy Returning Officer – Emma Howes, Engagement Manager at ARU Students’ Union, and any decision made by them is final.
In this Election a count system called ATV is used.
Counting using the ATV (Automatic Transferable Vote) System:-
The winning candidate must reach a quota, this is the number of votes they have to achieve to be declared the winner.
The quota is obtained by dividing the VALID votes by 2 and then adding 1.
i.e.
1242 votes were received, divide by 2 = 621
621 + 1
622 is the quota of votes the winning candidate needs to receive to be declared the winner
If there are more than 2 candidates then this quota may not be reached in the first round of counting, if this is the case then the candidate (including RON) with the lowest number of first votes is eliminated.
The second preference votes of the first candidate to be eliminated are then counted and added to the first preference votes of the candidates left.
Any ballot papers that don't have a second preference are no longer in use.
If still no candidate reaches the quota number then the next candidate with the lowest number of votes is eliminated.
Their second preference votes are then added to the candidates that are left and counted.
This process continues until a candidate reaches the quota and is declared the winner.
If the result is agreed then the Returning Officer, or in his/her absence, the Deputy Returning Officer will sign off the count sheet and the result declared.
The ATV count is done automatically using a computerised system.