Election Goes Digital [17.05.22]
Goodbye ballot box, hello digital ballot paper: whether from home, from the semester abroad, or simply on the road with your smartphone - it has never been easier to participate in university democracy. The Hohenheim committee elections will take place online for the first time between 21 and 28 June 2022. There will be no need to go to the polling station in the Palace. This year, students and doctoral candidates are called upon to elect their representatives for the Senate, the Faculty Councils, and the Student Parliament. Professors as well as academic and other staff members will not vote again until next year due to longer terms of office.
Are face-to-face elections still appropriate in times of working from home and online teaching? This question has been on the minds of many universities in Baden-Württemberg since the outbreak of the pandemic. Stuttgart, Heidelberg, and Freiburg have already switched to online elections.
Now that all the technical and legal preparations have been completed and the Senate gave the green light for the new election regulations at the beginning of May, the University of Hohenheim is joining the club. It is relying on the certified market leader POLYAS, which specializes in university elections, among other things.
"The principles of free, equal, and secret elections continue to apply, of course," emphasized election manager Jana Tinz.
University hopes for higher voter turnout
The election administrator cites a number of good reasons for the change: "The election will be more environmentally friendly and more efficient, as we will save paper and need fewer staff. Sources of error during voting and counting will be minimized. Above all, however, we are lowering the barriers to participation because you can cast your digital ballot from anywhere: No matter whether you are on campus, working from home, or abroad," said Tinz.
The Covid-19 pandemic last year clearly demonstrated how important the last point is: in 2021, only 5.7% of students and 9.1% of doctoral candidates at the University of Hohenheim cast their votes (Senate) - fewer than ever before. The introduction of online elections should now once again motivate more university members to make use of their right to vote.
How online voting works
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In practice, online voting is very simple:
- To identify themselves, eligible voters log on to the HohCampus platform with their Hohenheim user ID during the one-week election period (June 21 - 28).
- From HohCampus, a personalized link leads to the online voting system "POLYAS".
- From here, a digital assistant helps with filling out the digital ballot - and thus prevents, for example, too many or too few votes from being cast.
The election will take place exclusively online. Polling stations will not be set up on campus, nor will absentee voting be possible this year.
Those who do not have a Hohenheim user account are called upon to take care of the activation in good time in advance. In case of queries or problems, the KIM's IT service desk will help. People who do not have a digital terminal available can make an appointment at the election office and use a laptop there to cast their vote.
Why vote?
Big decisions are not made in the back room at the university, but in the Senate (uni-wide) and the three Faculty Councils. There, all groups at the university are represented by elected members.
Students also elect the Student Parliament (StuPa), the central committee of the student body, which represents the interests of students at the university and in public.
By law, the professors have an absolute majority in the Senate and Faculty Councils. But the committees are also an opportunity for students, doctoral candidates, and academic and other employees to make their respective status groups heard and to gain insight into all important issues at the university. A high voter turnout gives the representatives a boost.
All employees and students at the University of Hohenheim are entitled to vote, although the periods of office differ depending on the status group. This year, students and doctoral candidates are called upon to vote. Professors as well as academic and other staff members will vote again next year.
The Online Courier will present the lists the week before the election. The student lists will also present themselves on Instagram.
Text: Leonhardmair / Translation: Neudorfer
