Voting opened this morning for the referendum on Cambridge University Student Union’s (CUSU) continued affiliation with the National Union of Students.

The ballot opened at midnight, and will run until 4pm on Friday, at which point provisional results will be announced.

The referendum was called by a two-thirds majority vote of CUSU Council, after the election of incoming NUS President Malia Bouattia – who has been alleged to have made anti-Semitic remarks – sparked a student campaign.

The referendum (link to voting page) poses the question “Should CUSU disaffiliate from the National Union of Students?”. There are two options: “Yes” or “No” to disaffiliation. Under CUSU referendum rules, the Yes vote – for disaffiliation – will pass if it obtains a simple majority, with at least 10 per cent of eligible voters selecting that option. Under the finalised ballot numbers, this means that that Yes will need 2,148 votes for the result to be valid.

Members of the Yes campaign have raised concerns with the referendum’s quoracy requirements – suggesting that voters should have been asked whether CUSU should remain affiliated, rather than whether it should disaffiliate from NUS.

Polling on voting intentions by Varsity suggests that the vote could be extremely narrow: 45.8 per cent of the respondents chose disaffiliation, while support for staying in stood at 41 per cent. Polling also revealed that men are more likely to vote Yes, whilst women tend to support a No vote.

CUSU President Priscilla Mensah expressed her support for Cambridge remaining affiliated the NUS at hustings hosted by CUSU last Tuesday, which were also attended by Richard Brooks, a Vice-President of NUS.

“NUS has a lot of work to do, and Cambridge students need to be part of that,” she told Varsity, “I have seen NUS up close this year, and I do believe Cambridge students have something unique to offer NUS to ensure it becomes the inclusive, anti-racist organisation all students deserve.”

Mensah sent an open letter to NUS on Monday, asking it to properly confront the allegations of anti-Semitism it faces. She encouraged students to participate in the referendum.

“This vote will be close, thus it is imperative all students’ voices are heard,” she said. “As a Black officer, I know what NUS has meant to my work this year: for NUS to successfully reach out to all minority students, it needs to do more, and I want to see Cambridge students pushing NUS to rid itself of racism in all its forms through the democratic tools open to us if we remain affiliated.”

Jack May, English finalist at Gonville and Caius, Yes campaigner, and co-founder of the ‘NUS: Let Cambridge Decide’ campaign also encouraged students to take the time to vote.

"The way this referendum works means that every single vote counts,” May told Varsity, “It’s going to be really tough to get disaffiliation through the system and to send the clear message that Cambridge will not stand by as part of an organisation rife with anti-Semitism, but it’s vital that as many people vote as possible. It’s a tough time for all of us in the middle of exams, but this is an absolutely vital choice for Cambridge students, and it’s in everyone’s interests to make sure we get a really good turnout.”

The University of Cambridge is not alone in holding a referendum on NUS affiliation.Elsewhere, Lincoln, Hull and Newcastle have voted to disaffiliate from the NUS, while Exeter and Warwick voted to remain. Oxford University will be holding a vote from the 31st May–2nd June.

Varsity has produced a guide to the key issues of the referendum.

Update 24/05: We have updated the article to note that the University of Hull has today voted for disaffiliation.