Returning officer responsibilities

Here are the returning officer responsibilities from the Returning Officers' Handbook 2022.

The board is responsible for promoting elections.

The role of the returning officer is:

• Prepare separate rolls of all persons eligible to vote in:
  • the election of parent representatives at the triennial or mid-term elections (for boards that have adopted the staggered election cycle).
  • the election of one staff representative at the triennial elections.
  • the election of one student representative, held each year in September.
  • any by-election for the above positions.
    
    
• Call for nominations of people eligible to stand as candidates.
• Receive nominations, ensure these are valid and update the presiding member about the number of nominations.
• Ensure that the name of every eligible candidate is available for inspection at any reasonable time at the school, that is, from the time of receipt until polling day.
• To receive candidates’ statements and, if necessary, edit these statements; and to receive a candidate photograph, if included as part of their statement.

NOTE: The only grounds for editing a statement are if you reasonably consider that part of the statement is likely to be defamatory or offensive, or the statement is too long. A statement of about 400 words is a reasonable length. Retyping or sub-editing purely to improve the presentation is not a requirement

• If a voting election is required: to issue to each elector on the parent roll, a voting form containing the names of candidates for whom the elector is entitled to vote, together with candidates’ statements and a return envelope.
• If a voting election is required: to issue to each elector on the staff roll a voting forms containing the names of candidates for whom the elector is entitled to vote, together with candidates’ statements and a return envelope, or advise where these can be collected.
• Receive all voting forms and ensure they are held in safe custody.
• Open and examine all voting forms to determine whether the votes meet the requirements for validity, and count the number of votes cast for each candidate.
• Declare the results of elections.
• Promptly complete and submit Appendix 1 online, so the Ministry of Education is advised of the outcomes of all elections.
• Ensure that Appendix 2 is completed and submitted by newly elected board members, or report to the board chair that this needs to be done by the new board member(s).

NOTE: Returning officers must follow the election timetable and cannot alter it in any way.