A Referendum Motion is a specific question or issue you want your members to vote on. Each Referendum can contain multiple motions (or questions), and you can set the choices you want to give your voters per motion. For example, you might want them to vote For or Against one motion and Yes or No on another. You can present these choices in a random order on the ballot, or they can be displayed in a fixed order every time the ballot page is loaded. Giving the option for your members to abstain is optional.
You can also add users to be able to update the case argument text too. You may have a group of members who are "For" a motion and another who are "Against" - rather than you as administrators adding the text on their behalf, you can give the members themselves access to edit their case argument.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
You can access this feature from your MSL website. Only Content Editors with access to Referenda Admin can access the Motions window.
To hide motion document and case links in your referendum display, see How to Hide the Referendum's Motion Document Links and How to Hide the Referendum's Case Links.
For further information, see Referenda Overview.
Motions Fields
This table lists and explains the Referendum Motions fields.
| Field Name | Definition |
|---|---|
| Title | This is the name of the Referendum Motion - the question you are asking. It is displayed on the referenda list and the referendum ballot. The Title must be unique across all Referenda. This field is mandatory. |
| Choice Type | These are the options available to voters on the ballot. The options are:
Once the Motion has been saved, the Choice Type cannot be edited. |
| Choice Order | This is the order in which the Choices are displayed to voters on the ballot. The options are:
Once the Motion has been saved, the Choice Order cannot be edited. This field is displayed only in the New Motion and Edit Motion windows. |
| Display Order | This controls the order in which the Motions are displayed in a Referendum. Enter a whole number, e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The Motion with the lowest number is displayed first. For example, if one Motion has a Display Order of 1, and another has a Display Order of 5, the one with the Display Order of 1 is presented first. |
| Quorum | If relevant, specify the minimum number of votes required to make the decision binding as laid out in your constitution. This field is for information only. Should the vote count not reach quorum, the result is still displayed in the Result Details window, however, a message is displayed to confirm that quorum was not reached. This field is displayed only in the New Motion and Edit Motion windows. |
| Motion Description | This text should be a short summary of the motion. It is displayed on the referenda list and the referendum ballot and can contain:
The Referendum Motion Description Editor Toolbar can be edited to add or remove further buttons. This field is displayed only in the New Motion and Edit Motion windows. |
| Motion Text | This field is where you should add the specific text of the motion, as proposed according to your constitution. It is displayed on the motion page below the motion description and can contain:
The Referendum Motion Text Editor Toolbar can be edited to add or remove the available buttons. This field is displayed only in the New Motion and Edit Motion windows. |
| Ballot Rubric | Content added to this text field is displayed at the top of the ballot page for the selected Motion. If left blank, the Default Ballot Rubric is displayed instead. The Ballot Rubric content should contain instructions for the voter about how they cast their vote. The Ballot Rubric can be set per device type (Website, Polling App and Mobile App). This field is displayed only in the New Motion and Edit Motion windows. |
| Edit Group Members | Click to view the Motion Groups window. This is where you add users to the automatically created motion groups to allow them to add and update the Referendum Case pages e.g. the For or Against case. The users added to motion groups can edit the motion cases only - voting eligibility is controlled by the Voter Grouping set on the New Referendum and Edit Referendum windows. This field is displayed only in the Motions window. For further information, see How to Add Motion Group Members. |
| Edit [Choice] Case | Click to display the corresponding Edit Referendum Case window. For example, if the Yes / No / Abstain option has been selected from the Choice Type dropdown on the New Motion window, the Edit [Choice] Case linkfields will be Edit YES Case and Edit NO Case. Content entered on the corresponding Edit Referendum Case window can contain:
The Referendum Case Editor Toolbar can be edited to add or remove the available buttons. This field is displayed only in the Motions window. For further information, see How to Edit Motion Group Cases. |
Delete ( ) | Click to Delete the Referendum Motion. Once a referendum motion has voting records it cannot be deleted. This field is displayed only in the Motions window. For further information, see How to Delete a Referendum Motion. |