Reports

Report of the Council on the introduction of electronic voting in ballots of the Regent House

The Council begs leave to report to the University as follows:

1. Ballots of the Regent House are a fundamental part of the University’s governance arrangements. It is important that the electoral arrangements for such ballots are transparent and straightforward, in order that members of the Regent House can exercise their democratic rights as simply and securely as possible and with confidence in the system used.

2. In November 2005, the Council published a Report on voting arrangements in which it proposed initiating a study of whether electronic voting by the Regent House could be introduced (Reporter, 6018, 2005–06, p. 190). The Board of Scrutiny has also suggested in several of its Reports that electronic voting in University elections and ballots be considered.

3. The Council, during the 2011–12 academical year, established a Working Group (the Principal of Homerton (Chair); Dr S. J. Cowley, Mr B. Dowling (Council); Dr M. C. Elliott, Professor D. J. Feldman (Faculty of Law)), to consider whether a system of electronic voting might be introduced for ballots of the Regent House. Advised by that group, the Council now brings forward a proposal that, with effect from the next promulgation of the Roll of the Regent House (on 6 November 2013), ballots of the Regent House should be conducted by means, primarily, of an electronic voting system.

4. Recent ballots of the Regent House have concerned important strategic and governance issues for all members of the University, e.g. undergraduate fees and access; the employer justified retirement age; the North West Cambridge project; and elections to the Council. Currently, between about a quarter and a third of eligible voters participate in ballots of the Regent House. The Council is persuaded that an electronic voting system will encourage greater numbers of Regent House members to engage in the democratic processes of the University (particularly in the case when members of the Regent House do not have ready access to their pigeon holes). Participation in student elections within the University has increased with the move to electronic voting, and the Working Group’s consultations indicate that experience at other institutions is similar. Further, the University increasingly conducts its business by electronic means.

5. The Council recognizes that the electronic voting system which is implemented must be both secure and cost-effective in order to command the trust and support of the Regent House. The Working Group carefully considered a number of options as follows:

• the development and management of an in-house system;

• the external verification of an in-house system;

• the engagement of an external provider.

6. In particular, the Working Group considered a proposal from an external provider, aware of the reassurance that can be provided by the involvement of an independent third party. In addition, an in-house electronic voting proposal was drawn up with contributions from the University Computing Service (UCS) and the Management Information Services Division (MISD). The latter was tested against the external provider’s proposal, and against the current postal system (that has worked well for many years). All systems have risks, and weaknesses (albeit slight) were identified in all three systems. Consideration was also given to the cost of engaging a third-party to run elections on behalf of the University. The Working Group concluded that there are no serious technical issues with running an in-house online voting system. Nor are there issues around ensuring the accuracy of the ballot result. Further, facilities can be provided for individuals to check their own votes.

7. On this basis, the Working Group proposed an in-house system based on the Basic Online Ballots (BOB) system. This system, which was developed by members of the Computer Laboratory and other members of the University (see http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~dme26/proj/BOB/) has been used for a number of years for student union elections (both University-wide and Collegiate) and for the election of student representatives to Faculty Boards. Some development work will be required; the details are set out in the technical specification which is available online at: http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/reporter/2012-13/weekly/6295/e-voting_techspec.pdf.

8. The system can be delivered and maintained at minimal cost. It will be necessary to maintain only one additional machine. The only other costs are those associated with the staff time in UCS and the Registrary’s Office required for each ballot. Assuming, as anticipated, that there is widespread take-up of electronic voting, these extra costs would be offset by significant savings in the printing, distribution, and counting of ballot papers.

9. The Working Group considered options for a complete move to electronic voting, or for running an electronic system in parallel with the current postal system. In the latter case it also considered whether there should be an opt-out for the postal system or for the electronic system, and how frequently opt-outs could be exercised. It concluded that electronic voting was likely to be more popular than postal voting, and that there would be high administrative overheads if the opt-out was run on a per ballot system.

10. The Council proposes

• that electronic voting should be the default system of voting under the new arrangements;

• that members of the Regent House will have the option of either voting electronically or by post;

• that members of the Regent House who wish to vote by post will be required actively to opt to receive and submit a hard copy voting paper;

• that requests to opt out of electronic voting will be for a full year period and not on a ballot-by-ballot basis; and

• that it will be possible to submit opt-out requests either by paper or via a web interface.

Opt-out requests received by the date at which the confirmed Roll of the Regent House is promulgated (i.e. the fifth weekday in November) will be effective until the next Roll is produced in the following November. However, the web interface by which requests can be registered will be available throughout the year but not activated until November.

11. The UCS has confirmed that all members of the Regent House have access to a Common Registration Service identifier (CRSid). CRSids will be the unique identifiers for voting purposes, with authentication by means of the University’s Raven service; the Council is satisfied that this meets the necessary security standards for online voting.

12. Electronic communications about ballots will be sent to CRSid@cam.ac.uk addresses. Members of the Regent House who do not routinely use this address will be responsible for ensuring that they have in place appropriate forwarding arrangements. Notification to online voters will be sent only in electronic format. The online process will be started at the same time as voting papers are distributed in hard copy to those who have opted to receive and submit a hard copy voting paper. The weblink for voting will become available immediately before the email notification is distributed. Flysheets and other election materials will be accessed by those voting electronically via the same web interface at which votes can be cast.

13. It is expected that, following implementation of electronic voting, the number of online voters will be significantly more than those voting on paper. The paper votes will therefore be entered manually into the online system with the result being generated electronically for all votes. As at present, envelopes containing voting papers will be stored securely and not opened until after the deadline for the submission of papers. There will be no review of the emerging electronic results at any point while the ballot remains open. The count will start only after the deadline for the submission of votes has passed.

14. The presiding officer will continue to be the Vice-Chancellor or a duly appointed deputy. The roles and responsibilities of the presiding officer will remain as currently set out in Regulation 14 of the regulations for Graces and Congregations of the Regent House. No changes are being proposed to the method of voting in ballots of the Senate.

15. Should the Regent House accept the proposed implementation of an electronic voting system for ballots of the Regent House, the Council undertakes to review the system a year after its implementation, assuming that two or more ballots have taken place.

The Council recommends:

I. That approval be given to the implementation of an electronic voting system for all ballots of the Regent House with a provision for hard copy voting for those who request it.

II. That, with effect from 6 November 2013, the regulations for Graces and Congregations of the Regent House (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 109) be amended as follows:

Regulation 13.

By amending Regulation 13 so as to read:

13. For a ballot on a Grace of the Regent House, or a ballot held under the provisions of Regulation 9 above, the period during which votes may be cast by all members of the Regent House shall commence not later than a day appointed by the Vice-Chancellor, which shall be neither less than fourteen days nor normally more than twenty-eight days of term after the publication of the Notice announcing the ballot; provided that the Vice-Chancellor shall have power to postpone the commencement of voting until a date not later than eighty days of term after the publication of the Notice. The Vice-Chancellor shall give public notice of the period during which votes may be cast. The latest time for casting a vote shall be not be earlier than the tenth day after the day appointed for the commencement of voting.

Regulation 25.

By replacing the words ‘by postal ballot’ with ‘by ballot’.

III. That, with effect from 6 November 2013, Regulations 1–5 of the regulations for Election of Members of the Council (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 114) be rescinded and replaced with new Regulations 1–7, and current Regulations 6–13 be renumbered accordingly. The new Regulations 1–7 will read as follows:

1. At each election of a member or members of the Council in any of classes (a), (b), and (c) voting shall be as set out in Regulations 2–7 below.

2. The election shall be conducted in accordance with the Single Transferable Vote regulations.

3. The period during which votes may be cast by all members of the Regent House shall be determined by the Vice-Chancellor, who shall give public notice of that period, provided that, for an election held in the Michaelmas Term, voting shall commence at least ten days after the promulgation of the Roll of the Regent House and the latest time for casting a vote shall not be earlier than the tenth day after the day appointed for the commencement of voting.

4. In order to be eligible in any class a candidate must be nominated on a paper sent to the Vice-Chancellor so as to arrive not later than noon on the tenth day before the date appointed for the commencement of voting. The paper must contain (a) a statement signed by two members of the Regent House, certifying that they nominate the candidate for election as a member in that class, and (b) a statement signed by the candidate certifying that he or she consents to be so nominated. No person shall be nominated for election in more than one class. On the receipt of each nomination the Vice-Chancellor shall forthwith publish it by causing it to be posted outside the Senate-House. A nomination may not be withdrawn after such publication.

5. Not later than the last day for the receipt of nominations each person nominated for election shall send to the Registrary a curriculum vitae, details of which shall be published for the information of members of the Regent House.

6. There shall be a separate vote for each class of members to be elected.

7. An election shall not be deemed invalid owing to the misdirection, late arrival, or non-arrival of any material relating to the election.

IV. That, with effect from 6 November 2013, Regulation 1 of the Single Transferable Vote regulations (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 117) be amended so as to read:

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.

V. That, with effect from 6 November 2013, the regulations for Financial Matters (Statutes and Ordinances, p. 1001) be amended as follows:

Regulation 3.

By replacing the words ‘by postal ballot’ with ‘by ballot’.

21 January 2013	L. K. Borysiewicz, Vice-Chancellor	Andy Hopper	Susan Oosthuizen
	N. Bampos	Fiona Karet	Rachael Padman
	Charles Bell	F. P. Kelly	John Shakeshaft
	Jeremy Caddick	Mark Lewisohn	Sam Wakeford
	Stephen J. Cowley	Rebecca Lingwood	I. H. White
	Athene Donald	Mavis McDonald	A. D. Yates
	I. M. Le M. Du Quesnay	Rosalyn Old