paprof
Junior member
Posts: 93
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« on: September 05, 2007, 11:01:09 PM » |
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I just sat through the first faculty meeting of the year today. It included an interminable time to elect a person to a committee because someone had left the faculty over the summer. It brought up a topic that has been endlessly commented upon by my faculty. We still do elections by written ballot at the meeting. The entire faculty votes. It is excruciating, sometimes. We go through successive votes until there is a majority for one candidate, and then we elect the next one. We do not have, nor will there be in the near future, a faculty senate.
Has anyone had any experience with electronic methods of voting? What works for you?
Thanks!
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sibyl
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« Reply #1 on: September 06, 2007, 09:00:59 AM » |
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Wow, it sounds like you're at my school!
Oh, wait, our first faculty meeting was two weeks ago.
I'll watch this thread with interest.
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"I do not pretend to set people right, but I do see that they are often wrong." -- Jane Austen, Mansfield Park
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prytania3
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« Reply #2 on: September 06, 2007, 02:11:47 PM » |
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We have an election committee. Nominations are sent to the committee then ballots are printed and distributed to the faculty and or staff via mailbox. Faculty/staff then have a week or two to vote. Wooden ballot boxes are put in convenient locations. Hu with the most votes wins. End of story.
If we had elections during a college-wide meeting, we'd never get out of there.
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« Last Edit: September 06, 2007, 02:12:12 PM by prytania3 »
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Clowns, I tell you. Clowns.
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science_expat
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« Reply #3 on: September 06, 2007, 06:22:01 PM » |
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Single transferable vote - http://www.accuratedemocracy.com/d_stv.htmYou vote for all candidates at the same time and rank order them by putting a 1 against your first choice, 2 against your second, etc... The weakest ones are eliminated and their votes redistributed by the next preference. Then you do it again. And again.... But there's only one election and this method is believed to be more representative than "first past the post". |
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Professor of Something Scarily Scientific Sounding
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prytania3
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« Reply #4 on: September 07, 2007, 08:39:01 PM » |
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Single transferable vote - http://www.accuratedemocracy.com/d_stv.htmYou vote for all candidates at the same time and rank order them by putting a 1 against your first choice, 2 against your second, etc... The weakest ones are eliminated and their votes redistributed by the next preference. Then you do it again. And again.... But there's only one election and this method is believed to be more representative than "first past the post". Alas, proportional representation. That's how NYC used to elect school board members. Counting the ballots was always a headache, even with computers. |
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Clowns, I tell you. Clowns.
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helpful
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« Reply #5 on: September 07, 2007, 09:30:56 PM » |
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There actually is a competition for committee posts? In my place, we rely on volunteers. When the first person volunteers, usually no one else does.
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prytania3
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« Reply #6 on: September 07, 2007, 09:32:48 PM » |
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There actually is a competition for committee posts? In my place, we rely on volunteers. When the first person volunteers, usually no one else does.
In my school, it depends on the committee. For example, some are on a volunteer basis but promotion and tenure committees and the election committee are all, well, by election. |
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Clowns, I tell you. Clowns.
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bewildered
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« Reply #7 on: September 08, 2007, 03:23:43 AM » |
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Just for fun, when we're trying to elect a representative to the "my-god-this-is-so-boring-I-can't-believe-we-have-to-have-a-committee-about-this" Committee (that's the actual name; you can't make this stuff up), just when everyone assumes it's about to sail through on a formality, I like to stand up and say "I move we do this by secret ballot." I do this only once every 5 years (which means I've done it twice so far), but it really freaks people out, especially the untenured nominee who is wondering why I think his nomination to the committee is so controversial. And it's a hoot when the Dean pronounces that "this nomination has passed 88 to 2" and the new faculty wonder what the heck has just happened.
And then I send the nominee a bottle of $80 scotch to celebrate his successful election to the committee.
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scotia
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« Reply #8 on: September 09, 2007, 01:55:32 PM » |
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There actually is a competition for committee posts? In my place, we rely on volunteers. When the first person volunteers, usually no one else does.
In my school, it depends on the committee. For example, some are on a volunteer basis but promotion and tenure committees and the election committee are all, well, by election. Rumor has it the committee that drew the most candidates for elections at my last campus was the Parking Committee. I believe the rumor. |
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prytania3
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« Reply #9 on: September 09, 2007, 02:01:28 PM » |
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There actually is a competition for committee posts? In my place, we rely on volunteers. When the first person volunteers, usually no one else does.
In my school, it depends on the committee. For example, some are on a volunteer basis but promotion and tenure committees and the election committee are all, well, by election. Rumor has it the committee that drew the most candidates for elections at my last campus was the Parking Committee. I believe the rumor. We don't have a parking committee, but then we have no parking left. |
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Clowns, I tell you. Clowns.
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