Statutes and Ordinances of the University of Cambridge
CHAPTER I
pp. 122–126
THE CHANCELLOR AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY

SINGLE TRANSFERABLE VOTE REGULATIONS

1. These regulations may be applied by Grace to the election of persons for membership of bodies within the University or for other purposes. Any election to which they have been so applied shall be conducted in accordance with the following provisions. For voting other than by paper ballot, the regulations shall be construed accordingly.

2. Every elector in giving his or her vote:

  1. (a)must enter on the voting-paper (see diagram below), against the figure 1, the name of the candidate to whom he or she gives first preference;
  2. (b)may in addition enter on the voting-paper, against the figures 2, 3, and so on, the names of any other candidates in order of preference.

Order of

preference

List the candidates in order of preference

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

 

5

 

6

 

7

 

8

 

3. A voting-paper shall not be valid unless the elector's first preference is legibly and unambiguously expressed.

4. There shall be appended to each voting-paper the following instructions:

Enter against the figure 1 the name of the candidate to whom you give first preference.

You may also enter, against the figures 2, 3, and so on, the names of other candidates in the order of your preference for them, continuing until you are indifferent. The order of your preferences is crucial. A later preference can be considered only if an earlier preference has received sufficient votes to qualify for election or has been excluded because of insufficient support. Under no circumstances can a later preference count against an earlier preference.

5.Counting of votes: the first stage

  1. (a)The voting-papers shall be sorted into parcels according to the first preferences recorded for each candidate, any invalid papers being set aside.
  2. (b)The number of first preference votes for each candidate and the total number of valid votes (i.e. voting-papers) shall be determined.
  3. (c)The returning officer shall then determine the number of votes sufficient to secure the election of a candidate (the ‘quota’), by dividing the total number of valid votes by (n + 1), where n represents the number of places to be filled, the result
  4. (i)being rounded up to the next whole number above, if it is greater than 100 and is not an exact whole number,
  5. or(ii)being rounded up in the second decimal place, if it is less than 100 and is not exact to two decimal places.

6.Election of a candidate

If at any stage of the count a candidate is credited with a number of votes equal to or exceeding the quota he or she shall be deemed to be elected, except that, if the number of candidates attaining the quota is greater than the number of places to be filled, the two or more candidates who attained the quota at the most recent stage of the count shall be deemed not to be elected, and the returning officer shall proceed to the next stage of the count.

7.Counting the votes: subsequent stages

Subsequent stages of the count shall be conducted as follows. When a candidate is deemed to be elected, the surplus of his or her votes (if any) above the quota shall be transferred5 to the continuing candidates next in order of the voters’ preference, in accordance with the provisions of Regulations 8 and 9. If two or more candidates have surpluses, the returning officer shall transfer5 all such surpluses, beginning with the largest. When all surpluses have been transferred,5 including any consequential surplus that arises as a result of the transfer of other surpluses, the candidate with the smallest number of votes shall be excluded from the poll, and his or her votes shall similarly be transferred to the continuing candidates next in order of the voters’ preference, in accordance with the provisions of Regulations 10 and 11. If such a transfer creates a surplus, that surplus shall in turn be transferred,5 and so on until the required number of candidates has been elected. Each transfer, whether of the surplus votes of an elected candidate or of the total votes of an excluded candidate, shall be deemed to constitute a further stage of the count.

8.The transfer of a surplus

When a candidate is deemed to be elected, the returning officer shall calculate the surplus of that candidate's votes above the quota, and shall apply the following provisions:

  1. (a)If the number of votes credited to any candidate is greater than the quota and one or more vacancies remain, the surplus of that candidate's votes shall be transferred in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 9, except as provided under Regulation 8(d) below.
  2. (b)If two or more candidates have a surplus, the largest of these surpluses shall be transferred.
  3. (c)If two or more candidates have equal surpluses, the surplus of the candidate who was credited with the largest number of votes at the earliest stage at which they had an unequal number of votes shall be transferred first; if such two or more candidates have been credited with an equal number of votes at all stages of the count, the returning officer shall determine by lot which surplus to transfer.
  4. (d)If the surplus of an elected candidate, together with any other surplus not yet transferred, does not exceed
  5. either(i)the difference between the numbers of the votes credited to the two continuing candidates lowest on the poll,
  6. or(ii)the difference between the total number of votes credited to the two or more candidates lowest on the poll and the number of votes credited to the candidate next above them on the poll,
  7. the transfer of such a surplus shall be deferred and shall be reconsidered at the next stage of the count.

9. A surplus shall be transferred in the following manner:

  1. (a)In the case of a surplus arising at the first stage, the returning officer shall examine all the voting-papers in the parcel of the elected candidate whose surplus is to be transferred.
  2. (b)In the case of a surplus arising at a later stage, which results from the transfer of another surplus or from the exclusion of a candidate or candidates, the returning officer shall examine only the papers which are contained in the sub-parcel last received by the elected candidate, which gave rise to the surplus.
  3. (c)The voting-papers to be examined shall be sorted into sub-parcels according to the next available preferences for continuing candidates, any papers on which no next available preference is expressed being set aside.
  4. (d)The number of papers in each sub-parcel, the total number of transferable papers, and the number of non-transferable papers shall be determined.
  5. (e)The returning officer shall determine the value of the papers to be transferred in the following manner:
  6. (i)If the present total value of the transferable papers exceeds the surplus, the transferable papers shall be transferred at a fractional transfer value, which shall be determined by dividing the surplus by the number of transferable papers to two decimal places, ignoring any remainder. The papers shall be marked with their new transfer value.
  7. (ii)If the present total value of the transferable papers does not exceed the surplus, the transfer value of each paper shall be its present value.
  8. (f)Each continuing candidate shall be credited with the value of any papers transferred to him or her, and any non-transferable differences between the total value of such papers and the surplus shall be added to the previous non-transferable total.
  9. (g)When a surplus has been transferred under this regulation, the returning officer shall ascertain which candidates (if any) are deemed to be elected in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 6.

10.The exclusion of a candidate

If, when all surpluses have been transferred (or when their transfer has been deferred under Regulation 8(d)), one or more vacancies remain unfilled, the candidate or candidates credited with the smallest number or numbers of votes shall be excluded from the poll, as follows:

  1. (a)The two or more candidates credited with the smallest number of votes shall be excluded together if the total number of votes of such two or more candidates together with the total of any surpluses not transferred under Regulation 8(d) does not exceed the number of votes credited to the candidate with the next smallest number of votes.
  2. (b)Otherwise, the candidate credited with the smallest number of votes shall be excluded if the number of votes of such a candidate together with the total of any surpluses not transferred under Regulation 8(d) does not exceed the number of votes credited to the candidate with the next smallest number of votes.
  3. (c)If the two or more candidates credited with the smallest number of votes have each the same number of votes, the candidate who had the smallest number at the earliest stage at which they had an unequal number shall be excluded. If such two or more candidates have been credited with the same number of votes at all stages of the count, the returning officer shall determine by lot which candidate to exclude.

11. The exclusion of a candidate or candidates from the poll shall be effected in the following manner:

  1. (a)The voting-papers of the candidate or candidates to be excluded shall be arranged in parcels in descending order of their transfer value.
  2. (b)The parcel of papers of the highest transfer value shall be sorted into sub-parcels according to the next available preferences for continuing candidates, any papers on which no next available preference is expressed being set aside.
  3. (c)The returning officer shall determine the number and value of the papers in each sub-parcel, and the number and value of the non-transferable papers.
  4. (d)Each continuing candidate shall be credited with the value of any papers transferred to him or her, and the value of any non-transferable papers shall be added to the previous non-transferable total.
  5. (e)After the transfer of a parcel of papers of any one transfer value, the returning officer shall ascertain which candidates (if any) are deemed to be elected in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 6.
  6. (f)Any remaining parcels of papers shall be sorted and transferred in turn in descending order of their transfer value in the same way; after each such transfer the returning officer shall ascertain which candidates (if any) are deemed to be elected in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 6.

12.The final stages

  1. (a)When the proposed exclusion of a candidate or candidates would reduce the number of continuing candidates to the number of vacancies remaining unfilled, such continuing candidates shall be deemed to be elected.
  2. (b)When the last vacancies can be filled under this regulation, no further transfers of votes shall be made, and the remaining continuing candidate or candidates shall be formally excluded from the poll.

13. In publishing the result of the election the returning officer shall include a notification of any transfer of votes made under these regulations, and of the total number of votes credited to each candidate after any such transfer.

14. Any candidate or any candidate's representative may, at any time during the counting of the votes, either before the commencement or after the completion of any transfer of votes, request the returning officer to re-examine and recount the papers of any or all candidates (not being papers set aside at a previous transfer as finally dealt with), and the returning officer shall forthwith re-examine and recount the same accordingly; the returning officer shall also have discretion to recount votes either once or more often in any case in which he or she is not satisfied as to the accuracy of any previous count; provided that nothing contained in this regulation shall make it obligatory for the returning officer to recount the same votes more than once.

15. If any question shall arise in relation to any transfer of votes, the decision of the returning officer, whether expressed or implied by his or her acts, shall be final.

16. For the purposes of these regulations the Vice-Chancellor or a duly appointed deputy shall be the returning officer.

17. In these regulations:

  1. (a)‘valid voting-paper’ means a voting-paper on which a first or an only preference is legibly and unambiguously expressed;
  2. (b)‘invalid voting-paper’ means a voting-paper on which no first preference is expressed, or on which any first preference is void for uncertainty;
  3. (c)‘continuing candidate’ means a candidate not yet elected and not excluded from the poll;
  4. (d)‘next available preference’ means the next preference in order, passing over any earlier preferences for candidates who have already been elected or excluded;
  5. (e)‘transferable paper’ means a voting-paper on which a next available preference for a continuing candidate is legibly and unambiguously expressed;
  6. (f)‘non-transferable paper’ means a voting-paper on which no next available preference for a continuing candidate is expressed, or on which any next available preference is void for uncertainty;
  7. (g)‘transfer value’ means the value, being unity or less, at which a voting-paper is transferred from an elected or an excluded candidate to a continuing candidate.

Footnotes

  1. 5. But see Regulation 8(d). The transfer of a surplus shall be deferred until a later stage of the count if it would not affect the order of the two (or, in certain circumstances, more than two) candidates lowest on the poll.a b c d