The UCDSU Class Rep elections had only 297 individual voters across 31 seats and 19 contested constituencies according to figures released to the College Tribune by the UCDSU. Just 126 class reps have been elected this year
UCDSU Campaigns and Engagement Officer Daryl Horan told The College Tribune: “Voting turnout in Class Rep Elections is traditionally considerably lower than in executive elections. This is due to a mixture of most constituencies being uncontested and informal elections some class groups engage in by selecting their class rep before the election reducing the chances of a contested race. This year you would have only been able to vote if your constituency was a contested race meaning the franchise of voters would have been quite small encompassing only 19 constituencies.”
UCDSU was forced to extend the voting deadline by a day due to a system error which has now been resolved. The error became apparent on Wednesday; students who attempted to vote were unable to do so experienced difficulties as to registration to the correct constituency, as well as the ability to log in. The exact number of successful votes at that time is unclear but believed to be low.
During the election period, Horan told The College Tribune: “[UCDSU] had encountered [sic] issues voting in two areas, the ability to log in and incorrect registration details.” Explaining that it was the former area that had caused an issue with the MSL voting system used by the Union. The voting period was extended to account for these issues.
“Lastly, we want to apologise for the difficulties students had in voting,” stated Horan. This is not the first time issues have taken place with online UCDSU elections. A similar issue arose during the 2020 SU election; a bug in the system provided by Membership Services Ltd meant that votes cast through Facebook or Instagram may not have been counted. This issue was then resolved, with the 2021 SU election running smoothly.
Rosie Roberts Kuntz – Assistant News Editor
Hugh Dooley – News Editor
