• How to Vote

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► How to Vote

If you have voted in an election before (either here at Trent or back home) you are probably used to going to a polling station, getting a piece of paper, putting a X next to your favourite candidate and putting it in a box.

Not with NTSU.

This year NTSU is using online voting for its elections, and a much fairer system for making sure your vote is counted.

How to vote online:

1. Click here to be taken to the voting page
2. Type in your NTU student number and password
3. Click on the election you want to vote in
4. Rank the candidates in order of preference by putting a number in the box next to their names - your favourite candidate should be number one
5. Submit your vote
6. Done

Why am I ranking candidates and not just putting an X next to my favourite?

(For a video explanation, please go to http://tinyurl.com/ya2m2rl)

In most elections, you just put an X in a box next to the candidate and the candidate with the most votes wins. If 5 people were running for one position, it is likely that the candidate with the most votes will have less than half of the total votes cast. In other words, more than half of the people that voted DID NOT vote for the winner.

This isn’t fair.

When NTSU runs elections, it uses a system where a candidate needs a set number of votes to win (called a quota). If, after counting all the 1^st preference votes, no candidate has reached this number, the candidate with the lowest number of votes is eliminated.

When a candidate is eliminated, their votes are re-counted. The counters look at who received the 2^nd preference votes, and allocate them accordingly.

The counters then look at the updated totals for the remaining candidates. If one has reached the quota, he or she is elected. If the quota still hasn’t been reached, the new lowest candidate is eliminated and their 2^nd preference votes re-allocated. This is repeated until a candidate has reached the quota.

So to make sure my favourite candidate wins, I should put them as 1 and leave everyone else blank?

No. You can put only 1 preference down but 2^nd (and further) preferences are not counted until the candidate you give your 1^st preference to has no chance of winning the election. If your 1^st preference candidate wins the election, your other preferences have never been counted.

If you don’t give any candidate a preference after your favourite/1^st preference, and your favourite is eliminated, your vote will play no further role in the election.

Example Election:

1. 100 votes were cast:
   • Candidate A = 40 1^st preferences
   • Candidate B = 35 1^st preferences
   • Candidate C = 25 1^st preferences
   
   The quota is 51 votes (over 50%). No candidate has reached this.
   
2. Candidate C has the lowest number of votes and is eliminated.
    
3. The counters look at the 2^nd preferences for everyone who gave C their 1^st preference:
   • Candidate A = 18 of C’s 2^nd preferences
   • Candidate B = 7 of C’s 2^nd preferences
   
    
4. The totals are updated:
   • Candidate A = 58 votes
   • Candidate B = 42 votes
   
    
5. Candidate A now has over 51 votes so WINS the election.