Electronic voting now available

An amendment to the CICES Royal Charter has been approved by the Privy Council, to allow members to vote electronically for the first time.

This means that ballots for significant developments within the institution can be held reliably without the need for postal forms.

For example, nominations for Council of Management can be voted for via a secure online form, avoiding the need for printing and posting.

And as well as the obvious convenience this enables, electronic voting also means less use of paper.

Postal voting will still be available for those members that need - but it will no longer be the sole option.

This reduction of waste and resource consumption is central to the CICES ‘Golden Thread’ of sustainability.

A vital change

This amendment was raised and agreed upon by Council of Management before being sent to the Privy Council for approval.

The Privy Council is a Government mechanism for ratifying areas of official business that aren’t necessarily the responsibility of departmental ministers.

And as a small but vital alteration, the change to the institution’s Royal Charter was one that was handled efficiently, with the inclusion of the following wording:

‘The Council may at its discretion submit any vote on the election of a member of the Council and any resolution to a ballot which may be postal, electronic or other form of confidential voting or a combination of any of these forms of ballot.’

Bye law 34 (ballots)

Progressive thinking

CICES CEO Simon Hamlyn expressed his satisfaction with the new change, saying:

‘I’m delighted by the Privy Council’s approval of the proposed amendment to our charter in relation to ballot options.

‘This is very much in line with our digitalisation golden thread and will offer greater flexibility for members when voting.’

This was echoed by the institution’s president, Andy Evans, who commented:

‘Digitalisation is one of the golden threads of our strategy for the institution and enabling electronic voting is a no-brainer for efficiency and convenience.

'It should also lead to an increase of engagement with our members on voting matters.'

View the Royal Charter of the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors.