The RSS Trustees have been made aware of a discrepancy in the Single Transferable Vote (STV) method used to calculate results for Council elections. A fellow contacted the Society expressing concerns about the current ERS97 STV method used after the 2021 elections.
Following an investigation, the Society has become aware of the ‘Election method for RSS Council’ article published in RSS News in December 1995, which outlines the Council’s decision to use BL Meek’s version of STV.
The Society regulation for elections refers to Annex 1, which outlines the Society’s method. Unfortunately, the Society has not located this document as it was separated from the regulations some years ago.
In the Council meeting held on 22 March, the Society’s Trustees approved the Society’s use of BL Meek’s version of STV. The Trustees have instructed the Society’s governance team to review administration processes to ensure critical Society documentation is secure.
The Society would like to thank Blaise Egan for his assistance on this matter, especially for the document linked above.
Fellows are asked to send feedback on this article to Jo Fishwell, the Society’s Governance and Committees Officer.