Returning Officer & Meeting Chair

Returning Officer

Your Returning Officer is the person in charge of running the election and counting the votes in an anonymous manner. They cannot vote, nominate candidates, or run in the elections. They are usually an outgoing executive member who is not running for any current positions.

The Returning Officer should be appointed when you begin the election. Their appointment should be motioned and seconded.

The Returning Officer should not announce the numbers of votes for each candidate, but rather announce the finalised results. Should the Returning Officer require, they may appoint suitable persons, not being candidates for election, as Deputy Returning Officers (for example to count paper ballots).

The Clubs & Societies Manager shall serve as Electoral Arbiter and shall receive any appeals against the decisions of the Returning Officer.

Chairing the meeting

Meetings are chaired by an executive member, usually the President. If the President is unavailable then any other member of the executive team may chair the meeting. It is the Chair's responsibility to make sure the meeting runs according to the items listed in the Agenda.