Standing for the JCR

Elections for 2009 are under way! Why not run for a position?

2009 dates:

First round:

Second round:

Elections for the JCR exec take place in November each year. They are split over 2 weeks, with some positions in the first week and the rest in the week after. You will receive an email from the JCR giving you the exact dates of the elections nearer the time. Some positions have different election procedures (LBGT, International, Webmaster) please see below for details. If you have any questions, please ask any JCR exec member.

1) Find out about the position itself:

Get talking and get interested! Speak to the person currently holding the position to find out what it's really like. Speak to others on the JCR or in college.

Being on the JCR exec means not only having particular duties according to your position, but it also involves sharing responsibilities with the whole JCR exec. This includes attending a weekly exec meeting, open meetings, helping during elections, setting up and working for bops and other JCR events. It also includes being an active, approachable member of a dynamic team, listening to the concerns of students and working together towards common goals. Exec members have to comply with the CCSU constitution- also on the website!

2) Write a manifesto:

Nominations will be opened for positions 10 days before the election. Only candidates who hand their manifesto in to the JCR President by the deadline published will be able to stand.

Your manifesto must

• Be only A4 in size.
• Have a passport (roughly) sized photo of you on it.
• Have your name and the position you are standing for.
• Be signed - by you, by a proposer and a seconder. These people can be anyone in CCSU (that’s any student in college) but for the first year rep positions they must be first years.

Your manifesto might like to include:

• A bit about yourself.
• Why you would like to be the officer.
• Why you would be good at it.
• What you would do if you were elected.

The manifestos will then be photocopied and stamped by the JCR and put up in the P'lodge, outside upper hall and in the JCR for students to read.

No other posters, flyers or forms of campaigning are allowed. Candidates that do will be not eligible to stand. No one can stand for more than one post in one round of elections.

3) Speak at Hustings:

Hustings takes places roughly 3 days after the manifestos have been collected. Instructions will be given to all candidates of the exact details at the time, but this is a rough idea of what expect.

• Hustings take place in the Buttery often after a JCR open meeting.
• Candidates standing for President get 5 minutes to speak, everyone else gets 3 minutes.
• Candidates use the time to describe who they are and what they would do in the position, encouraging students to vote for them.
• When you have one minute remaining you will receive a tap or signal for the chair at hustings, and again when you have 30 seconds left.
• After each candidate for one position has spoken, questions are answered from the floor (that's any member of CCSU who has come to hustings), sometimes with a time limit. They are answered on a rotational basis, so it's fair on all candidates.
• No questions can be asked directly to a candidate, but must be addressed to the position.
• Don't worry, while it may be daunting, it's not that scary, but just gives people a chance to hear what you do. Everyone is just as nervous as you and the JCR exec are there to help!

4) Vote!

• All members of CCSU can vote. Only women can vote for the Women's Officer and only first years for the positions of First Year Reps.
• The poll will be open for at least 4 hours.
• Voting must take place in person and be supervised by 2 JCR exec members and all ballot papers stamped by the CCSU stamp.
• The location and times of the election and the count will be published at least 24 hours in advance.
• Any member of CCSU can attend the count. The count is done by the Senior Returning Officer (a fellow), the Junior Returning Officer (someone elected from the JCR) and other members of the JCR who are not standing in the election.
• The results will be published as soon as possible after, in the JCR, in the p'lodge and in the bar, generally in the evening of the election.
• Voting and counting are done by Single Transferable Voting (STV) if 3 or more candidates are standing. Please see ask the Junior Returning Officer for more information. If only 2 people are standing then it's done by the first past the post system.

5) If you're successful...

There will then be a handover period with the outgoing officer over the next week or so.

Your position starts straight away - enjoy it!

Further details..

Positions in Round 1 elections:

• President
• Vice-President
• Treasurer
• Ents Officer
• Women's Officer

Positions in Round 2 elections:

• Welfare
• Access
• Charities
• Green
• Publicity
• LBGT Rep
• First Year Reps - 2 positions

 Positions with different election procedures:

• LBGT Rep
  The LBGT Rep election is co-ordinated by the outgoing LBGT Rep. Please speak to the current LBGT Rep if you are interested.
• International Rep
  The international representative for the CCSU is voted in a slightly different manner. The candidates do not get involved in the general hustings (held in the bar), but rather in a separate husting. You do not need to be an official international student recognized by the college in order to run for the position, so long as you can self-identify yourself as 'international' and are willing to represent the international students community in Christ's as a whole. Please speak to the current International Rep if you are interested.
• Webmaster
  The role of webmaster is co-opted onto the JCR, meaning that after the new JCR committee has been completely elected, they vote for the webmaster. This means there are no hustings - candidates submit their manifestos along with other second round candidates. The Exec then vote at their first meeting (after the second round elections) based upon the manifestos. Please speak to the current webmaster and the President if you are interested.