Friday 12-01-2024 - 12:44

Your annual Student Officer Elections are right around the corner, but what does that actually mean?

Here’s everything you need to know:

 

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What are elections?

Our annual Student Officer Elections are how we appoint your new team of Student Officers each year - the people who represent all of you (all 38,000 of you), lead the political direction of The Union, and campaign for positive changes on anything that affects student life and your experience at uni.

This is a full-time, paid position that involves creating a positive impact for our students - what more could you want?

Candidates will submit their own manifestos and start campaigning to win your votes. The new Officers are elected by you - so even if you’re not running for the role yourself, you can still get involved, vote, and have an impact on how The Union will operate.

 

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What roles are available?

+ President

+ Education Officer

+ Wellbeing Officer

+ Societies and Development Officer

+ Sport Officer

Check out our current Officer team and see the sorts of campaigns, initiatives and changes they’ve been involved with so far this year.

 

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How to get started

Is this position something of interest to you? Or maybe you have someone else in mind who you think would be a perfect fit for one of the roles?

There’s two ways to start your journey:

1. Nominate yourself - fill in our online form and tell us why you’d make the ideal candidate.

2. Recommend someone - maybe these roles aren’t for you, and that’s completely fine! Tell us about someone you think would love to be a candidate and why they’d be the best person for the job.

And just to be clear, you’re not applying for them - they can then choose to nominate themselves based off your glowing recommendation🌟

 

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What next?

If you’re officially registered as a candidate, it’s time to start prepping. Here’s a quick summary of the election journey, but don’t worry if you’re a little confused, we’re here to explain everything and guide you through the process.

+ Election 101 sessions - make sure you know everything you need about elections, and learn more about the role, opportunities and process.

+ Candidate mixers - get to know your fellow candidates and make some new mates along the way.

+ Candidate Teams - you can run in the elections with other candidates as part of a Candidate Team. However, this isn’t compulsory to run, doing this solo is also absolutely fine.

+ Submit your manifesto - in short, this is your values and aims as an Officer, and will be how students decide who they’d like to vote for.

+ Campaigning - with your manifesto written, it’s time to get out there and start campaigning around campus to win those votes💪

+ Q&A session - this is a chance to really show off what you’ve got. You’ll be asked loads of questions about your goals as an Officer, based on your manifesto. And maybe the most important question of all - why should students vote for you?

+ Vote week - the final stage of the process and possibly the most important, students are able to vote for the candidate they think will best fit each role.

You can find all of the above in more detail and loads more info on our site and at our Election events.

 

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How do I vote?

Voting takes place 4 - 8 March and is a super easy process. Through our website you’ll be able to view the manifestos from all candidates, which will give you a better understanding of their key values and how they will act as an Officer.

Next, simply vote for your faves - who you think will make a positive change, represent students the best, and make the perfect team of student Officers.

Don’t worry if you’re unsure how to vote, we’ve got a quick and easy guide.

Not only do you get a say in who will be representing you and your fellow students, but voting also puts you in with a chance of winning some amazing prizes! Including:

+ iPhone 15

+ AirPods, 2nd generation

+ Ninja Air Fryer

+ Asda vouchers (who doesn’t love a free food shop?)

+ A Stanley Cup (don't worry, we have more than just one up for grabs)

+ A voucher for a brand new bike

 

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Timeline

+ Nominations open: 16 Jan - 20 Feb

+ Election 101 sessions: 8 & 12 Feb

+ How To Win An Election (candidate briefing & mixer): 22 Feb

+ Deadline to submit your manifesto, sign the eligability form, and tell us about your candidate team (if you're in one): 25 Feb

+ Start Campaigning: 28 Feb

+ Candidate Q&A sessions: 28 & 29 Feb

+ Vote week: 4 - 8 Mar

+ Results Night: 8 Mar