Focus on voting

The time of year has come again when we must try to act like an organised and dignified student body. Student Union election nominees have been announced, with a host of full- and part-time positions to be filled. Despite the usual and disappointing dearth of female candidates (with even the position of Women’s Campaigns Officer failing to lure any nominees), the field is well stocked and we are offered a choice of multiple candidates for nearly every post.

The question now stands as to how well we as students can engage with the democratic process. Last year saw a big improvement, with Union figures saying that total turnout increased by 25 percent, rising to 75 percent among postgraduates. With the ease of voting – simply go online in elections week to make your choice – there’s no reason why this upward trend should not continue.

This year, who we choose could prove crucial. With Higher Education funding cuts on the horizon and mentions of higher tuition fees being bandied around, student debate is going to be intense in the immediate future. The Sabbatical Officers we pick this year are going to be representing our views as Warwick students on a national level in addition to enacting our requests here in the Bubble, so it is key that we choose people we feel confident can listen to us and accurately and convincingly convey our views, as well as being able to carry out changes on a local and campus level.

Before you vote, make sure that you read the manifestos of the candidates standing; easy though it is to be drawn in by the slogans and simply vote for a name you recognise, true engagement with student democracy is necessary in order to get what you want out of your Union.

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On a national level, elections are looming too. But aside from the imminent General Election, voting beyond May has also been in the news, with Gordon Brown proposing a new voting system to replace our traditional ‘first past the post’ system.

After the approval of Parliament, a referendum could be held by the end of 2011 on an ‘alternative vote’ system. Here, voters rank candidates; if after the first count of votes no candidate has a majority, the one with the fewest votes is removed from consideration and his/her votes reallocated to the second preference. This continues until one candidate has at least 50 percent of the votes.

Of course, the Conservatives have criticised this as too far while the Liberal Democrats contend that it’s not far enough, demanding a ‘proportional representation’ system. However, the fact that not only is a change to the system finally being considered but also that the public is being asked to decide is surely a step forward.