How Does the Election Work?
The senate election will take place from Tuesday, January 21, 2025, 12 p.m. to Monday, January 27, 2025, 12 p.m. as an online election.
If you do not own a computer or do not have access to the internet, you can vote using the voting station located in the library during the election (please check the library's opening hours!).
If you are unable to vote online during the election period, please apply for postal voting in advance. You will find the “Application for postal voting” form here.
Please submit the completed and signed form to the election office (wahlbuero@hs-gm.de) by 12 p.m. on January 7, 2025.Your postal vote documents will then be sent to you.
Your postal vote must be received by the election office by 12 p.m. on January 20, 2025, at the latest.
According to § 5 of the HGU election regulations, every member of the university (see § 37, HessHG) has the right to vote and stand for election for their group.
Who are the candidates?
Candidates will introduce themselves to voters on this site. The overview will display candidates in the order of application and will be continuously updated from December 17 onward. That means it's worthwhile to check back every now and again!
On January 14, 2025, from 5:15 to 7:15 p.m. the candidates will have the opportunity to briefly introduce themselves after the Senate meeting. These introductions will take place in the auditorium and will also be livestreamed (a link to the livestream will be made available closer to the time).
What does the Senate do?
The Senate is the university's highest decision-making body. It advises on matters relating to research, teaching, and studying that are of fundamental importance to the university. Its other tasks are defined in § 42 of the Hessische Hochschulgesetz as well as the university's constitution (Grundordnung der Hochschule Geisenheim).
The Senate is made up of 17 members divided into four groups:
- Professors have nine seats
- Students have three seats
- Academic staff have three seats
- Administrative and technical staff have two seats
The Senate is elected for two years, though students elect their representatives annually.
The new Senate's term of office begins on April 1, 2025.
Election News
- The election committee will meet on January 7, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. to prepare for the presentation of the candidates on 14 January. The meeting will take place online and participation is possible via the following link: https://vc-green.hs-gm.de/b/sch-ypm-tzs-ebf
- The election committee will hold its 3rd meeting on December 17, 2024, at 2 pm in the Department of Oenology's meeting room (Blaubachstraße 19)
Where to Vote
- Online via Polyas
- Voting station at the university library
- Per post (if you are unable to come in person)
General Information about the Election
You will receive your election documents by e-mail to your HGU e-mail account on January 21, 2025 at 12 p.m. In your election invitation you will find information about the upcoming election as well as your personalized access data. Now you can decide for yourself when and where you would like to vote during the election period.
The subject line of the election invitation e-mail will be: Your election invitation: Senate and StuPa election WS 2024/2025 of Hochschule Geisenheim University.
This e-mail will be sent from the following address: voting@polyas.com
You can cast your vote from 12 p.m. on January 21, 2025 to 12 p.m. on January 27, 2025.
1. Registration: Entering the access data
Enter your access data (personal voter ID and a one-time password) to access the online voting system. Please note that your access data is case-sensitive when logging in.
2. Confirmation of registration: Anonymization
The voting system checks whether your data is stored in the electoral roll. Access to the voting system is only granted if you are authorized to vote. More information about secure authentication is available here (in German).
3. Your online vote: Your voting decision
The ballot paper is now displayed and you can vote. You can distribute your available votes to electoral lists, candidates or ballots at the click of a mouse. You can also cast an “invalid” vote.
4. Checking your vote
Once you have completed your ballot paper, it will be shown to you again for confirmation. You can then submit your final vote.
5. Finalizing your vote
After you have cast your final vote, you will receive confirmation that your vote has been received in the digital ballot box. Your vote is then complete. You can then close the browser window.
Election Regulations:
The Senate elections at Hochschule Geisenheim University in the 2023/24 winter semester are to be conducted in accordance with the university's election regulations (Wahlordnung der Hochschule Geisenheim) of January 23, 2013, last amended on December 15, 2020 (Official Notice 07/2020), on the basis of the Hessian Higher Education Act.
Election Principles:
The representatives of the member groups in the Senate shall be elected in free, equal, secret, and direct elections by the respective member group according to the principles of party-list proportional representation. The form of election shall be determined by whether there is one nomination per member group or whether several nominations are submitted.
Proportional Representation:
If there are several approved nominations for election in a group, the election is conducted according to the rules of proportional representation. Each eligible voter has one vote, which they can assign to a list of nominations.
Direct Election:
If only one nomination or one list of candidates has been accepted in a group, the election is held according to the rules of a direct election. Each eligible voter has as many votes as there are seats in the Senate to be filled by the respective group.
If at least one further list proposal is submitted within the same member group for an election proposal that has already been submitted to the election office, elections are held according to the principles of proportional representation. In this case, the order of the candidates listed is decisive.
A sufficient number of candidates should be named in the nomination lists in order to be able to delegate enough substitutes to the extended Senate. Each candidate may only be named on one list of candidates.
Substitutes:
Substitutes for the Senate members are also determined during elections to the Senate (proportional representation). Substitutes are the list members who are listed after the elected members of the Senate on the nomination list (in accordance with the number of mandates allocated to the list).
If only one nomination is submitted for a group (direct election), the candidates who have not been allocated a seat on the basis of the election results and who have the next highest number of votes are substitutes. If a list of candidates contains fewer candidates than the maximum number of seats the group is entitled to, the remaining seats shall remain vacant.
Term of Office:
The term of office begins on the first day of the semester following the election (April 1).
The term of office for representatives elected by the student group is one year. The representatives from the other groups are each in office for two years.
At its meeting on July 2, 2024, the Senate elected the election committee that will conduct the elections.
The election commitee has five members and five deputies. The members are as follows:
Professors:
Prof. Dr. Andreas Kurth
Prof. Dr. Mark Strobl
Prof. Dr. Kai Velten (deputy)
Dr. Thomas Muschkullus (deputy)
Academic Staff:
Dr. Maximilian Freund
Ms. Lucia Garstka (deputy)
Administrative and Technical Staff:
Mr. Thorsten Schomann
Dr. Karsten Rose (deputy)
Students:
Ms. Lilli Feisthauer
Ms. Sarah Schäfer (deputy)
We would like to thank all candidates for their willingness to serve on the election committee for Hochschule Geisenheim University's Senate elections.
The election committee remains in office until the new election committee is constituted. The election manager is Chancellor Mrs. Marion Waldeck. The meetings of the election committee are open to the public. The dates and locations of the meetings as well as the resolutions of the election committee are announced on the Hochschule Geisenheim University website and on a notice board.
