Bored, not befuddled

Protestations that members of the University and College Union were possibly put off by the complexity of the voting system in the ballot for the union's general secretary ("Low voter turnout raises questions of morale in UCU", March 16) are unconvincing.

It is true that single transferable votes counting is complex, but they are quite straightforward for voters to cast.

Certainly, electorates in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland - and indeed many British student unions - seem to manage perfectly well with just such a system.

Personally, I was more confused by the platitudinous, opaque and often barely distinguishable platforms of the candidates rather than I was baffled by the mysteries of the voting system.

Sean Hanley
School of Slavonic and East European Studies
University College London