Ballots are votes on matters for decision
by the Regent House; they are typically
held on Graces that propose major change, prove controversial, or are on matters of significant
importance to the University,
as well as on elections to the Council (and other bodies) when there is more than one eligible
candidate. Recent ballots have concerned important strategic and governance
issues, such as undergraduate fees and access, the employer justified
retirement age, the management and governance of sport within the University, and the North West Cambridge project.
A vote may be called by a request supported by at least 25 members of the Regent House, or the Council itself can decide that a matter be determined by ballot.
When a ballot is to be held, the arrangements for voting are announced in
the Reporter. All members of the Regent House are eligible to vote,
and voting information is automatically sent out to all members.
From January 2015, voting in ballots of the Regent House will be conducted electronically. Members of the Regent House will receive email notification of each ballot with links to the voting portal, instructions, and details (fly-sheets/candidate cvs etc) online. Members must use their raven IDs and passwords to log in to the secure voting portal to cast their vote. Members of the Regent House wishing to continue to receive hardcopy ballot papers must opt-out of online voting by the notified deadline. Opt-outs apply to all Regent House ballots held over the academical year and must be renewed by individual members each year.
Fly-sheets
To
enable members of the Regent House to make known their views on questions which
are to be the subject of a ballot, members may submit a written statement (a
fly-sheet) to the Registrary. Such statements should be signed by at least ten
members of the Regent House and be submitted by 1 p.m. on the specified day.
All fly-sheets are circulated with the voting papers, and also published in
the Reporter after the proposals to
which they relate have been voted on. More detailed information regarding the
submission of fly-sheets is provided in Statutes and Ordinances.