All technology encodes ways of seeing and this tool is no exception. Do expect that any and all data collection and visualisation are inherently reductive and subjective. The stories behind every decision and conversation at council can never be fully captured in any written minutes or agenda. We do our best with what we have.
Do use this tool as a starting point to reach out to the councillors and officers mentioned instead of a means to avoid them.
SU Council meets roughly 6 times a year to make decision.
Councillors
Represents the number of seated councillors. It excludes vacant seats.
Quorum
Each Council Session must meet Quorum in order to make valid decisions. To achieve Quoracy each session must contain ⅔rd of SU Council members excluding vacant positions.
Threshold
Votes to pass policy require a ⅔rd majority of total votes, rounded up. e.g. 50 total votes means a threshold of 34, rounded up from 33⅓.
Abstain Votes
Abstain votes count towards quoracy. According to the Bye-laws they count towards Total Votes. However there is confusion on this as 2023/2024 Council voted to make abstain votes not count to total votes. Yet all training material and councillor resources suggest or say that abstain votes count towards total votes in accordance with current bye laws. There is contradictory instructions in 2024/2025 meeting 4's minutes. To make matters worse, Make Abstentions Make Sense amendment was meant to fix this but was not written correctly. This is a mess.
Total Votes
Represents the total number votes cast for the purpose of determining threshold or quota. After 2023/2024 abstanations count towards the total number of votes.
Quota
When a vote has multiple options, Single Transferrable Voting may be used. Which means in order to pass, a vote needs to meet quota.
quota is calculated using the droop quota method where
Voting
A simple majority of those present shall be required in all votes, except that a 2/3rds majority shall be required to
Decide Ideas/Policy of the SU
Amend the SU Bye-laws
Mandate SEC or individual SU Officers, or block decisions of SEC (triggers Ref)
Call a referendum seeking to remove a Union Officer or elected official.
Set the agenda or Overturn the decision of a Forum or Committee.
Social Science
expand_circle_down