Polls open online as students begin to cast vote in UCCSU Elections

UCC students go to the virtual polls to vote for their next Students’ Union from Monday 28th to Wednesday 31st March, for the first time casting their votes online rather than on-campus. There are thirteen positions up for election, with every student eligible to vote in ten races, only able to vote in the college representative race to which they belong. Results are expected on April 1st following the closing of the polls at 23.59pm on Wednesday 31st. Students must log onto the online voting portal at suelections.ucc.ie with their student email and password in order to cast their vote. In all races, students have the opportunity to select a candidate, vote to re-open nominations or abstain from voting. Therefore, positions in the races are contested, with just one candidate running in the Education Officer, Welfare Officer and Environmental & Sustainability Representative races. The electronic voting portal is provided by Membership Solutions Ltd., a UK-based company who manages software and elections for student organisations across Ireland, the UK and Australia. Student consent is required to process all data gathered throughout the voting process. UCCSU has made information on candidates available through a number of sources, from hustings coverage available on their Facebook page to the details and manifestos of each candidate accessible at uccsu.ie/elections. UCC is one of the first universities in Ireland to go to the polls this year, with all higher education institutions moving towards a virtual voting process. It is hoped that such a system will increase participation in student elections, which has been in a state of consistent decline in recent years. The University Express provided live coverage of the election hustings on Twitter at @UCCExpress.