Today is the last day of voting and this evening we will find out who will be the next Guild President. We will also find out whether UWA students want to disaffiliate from the National Union of Students. Now with the bulk of the voting done Vol 4 of Antonate Silvergreen’s ‘The Numbers’ will look at past results of UWA referendums, how many votes are needed for an Ordinary Guild Councillor (OGC) to get elected, and STAR’s winning streak.
Here are the numbers that do and don’t matter:
69.30%
The ‘no’ vote for the last referendum in 2005. The question was “Do you agree that the most senior student member of the UWA Sports Council no longer be a voting member of the Guild Council?”
50.39%
The ‘yes’ vote for the 2002 referendum. The question was “Do you agree that the UWA Student Guild be declared a refugee safe haven?”.
181
The highest number of first preferences an elected OGC got in the 2016 election.
37
The lowest number of first preferences an elected OGC got in the 2016 election.
64
The highest number of first preference votes an OGC received in 2016 without being elected. This is why preference flow matters.
101
The number of first preferences a candidate got in 2015 without being elected. They ran as an independent. However, in 2014 an independent, Dave from the Dave Party, was elected on 80 first preference votes.
2
The number of Elections STAR has lost since 1994. The last time STAR lost was in 2011 to Liberty. Tonight we find out if that number will go to 3 or if the streak will continue.
Words by Ed Hollingdale and Julian Coleman
*edit: the highest number of first preferences an elected OGC got in the 2016 election was incorrectly stated to be 148, not 181*