Returning Officer

Hello, everyone! I am Jacob, and I am a third-year student of law. I have two roles in the JCR, which are the only roles to be appointed rather than elected. First, I am the Returning Officer. This means that I organise the elections, where the Officers and Representatives of the JCR are chosen. I also run the Hustings, which are electoral debates between candidates, held in advance of the elections. This role includes approving publicity material, encouraging members of the JCR to put themselves forward, and promulgating the results. 

Second, I am the Constitutional Oracle. Despite the grandiose title, this simply means that I am responsible for knowing, updating, and publicising the Constitution of the JCR, including the Standing Orders and the Mandates Document. This means that, during JCR meetings, I am tasked with making sure that the Constitutional procedure is properly followed by everyone involved. I also tally the votes for motions and procedural motions. In this capacity, I am the person to whom motions are submitted, and I publicise the list of motions in advance of each JCR meeting.

You will probably find me either existing blissfully in the JCR or existing studiously in the Law Library. Please feel free to contact me with any Constitutional inquiries, complaints, or quibbles. Also, if you are considering running for any role in the JCR, whether as an Officer or Representative, I would be happy to provide you with any information about the role that would be helpful. Finally, I am in charge of overseeing the JCR President, so I welcome any questions on that point. My email is the following: “jacob.harvey@ccc.ox.ac.uk”.