Students’ Union Election Rules and Regulations

During your election campaign you will be involved in a series of activities. It is important to remember that you are bound by various rules, regulations and policies.  

• Election Rules and Regulations
• Students’ Union Policies
• University Policies
• The Law

If you have any questions during the process, you should consult the elections team.

The 5 Core Principles

There are 5 core principles that all candidates must adhere to, failure to do will cause the candidate to be subject to sanction or sanctions ranging from restricting various forms of campaigning to the more extreme case of being removed from the election. For the avoidance of doubt, the use of the term ‘candidate’ or ‘candidates’ also refers to campaigners or campaign teams.

1. Students must be free to cast their vote without undue influence or pressure.
2. Obey the law, union and university policies.
3. Treat others as you wish to be treated.
4. Campaign within the financial allowance provided.
5. Campaigners should not undertake campaigns activity which others could not also reasonably do, and campaigning will start on the agreed upon day.

1. Students must be free to cast their vote without undue influence or pressure.

Candidates may not stand and watch students when they vote as the student would be under pressure to vote for that particular candidate. Candidates should move far away from student when they are voting.

Whilst it is allowed to hand out a flyer and a sweet to make students remember you and listen to you, you would not be allowed to offer to give students a reward (a sweet, money etc.) that they get after they have voted for you, as this would be seen as influencing a student’s vote.

2. Obey the law, union and university policies.

This means that you as a candidate and your campaign team, as always, must adhere to the law, University regulations (such as their behavioral code, health and safety regulations, equal opportunities procedure, harassment code, damage to university property, and use of email etc.) and Union policy. Breach of these policies can lead to a disciplinary which could in turn affect your student status and your Union membership.

3. Treat others as you wish to be treated.

This principle covers a lot of ground. For example: defacing other candidates’ publicity and heckling other candidates are among the actions that would be considered a breach of this principle.

4. Campaign within the allowance provided.

Items produced or primarily used for your campaign must be accounted for within the given allowance in line with the union’s financial election regulations.

5. Campaigners should not undertake campaigns activity which others could not also reasonably do, and campaigning will start on the agreed upon day.

All candidates will have equal opportunities to campaign and engage with students. This means that you cannot use methods and channels to engage with students that are not freely available to all candidates.

Candidates must not campaign until the start of campaigning. Campaigning may start prior to polls opening or on the same day. The exact date will be made clear to all candidates.

This means for example that you may not do any lecture shout outs or put-up posters before the start of campaigning, this is to ensure that all candidates start campaigning at the same time.

Candidate Engagement

In addition to the 5 core principles, it is expected that candidates engage with the process.

They are expected to attend a candidate briefing and submit all forms on time including the candidate declaration. Failure to do so may lead to disqualification from the election process including after the close of voting.

Re-running officers

Where officers are re-standing for a second term, they are restricted from using any facility open to them as current officers.

For further details officers should refer to the SU Staff Conduct During Election Guidance Document or the elections team.

Student Staff

Candidates and campaigners who are employed by the Union as student staff must not campaign while they are working for the Students’ Union. Candidates should refer to the Student Staff Guide for Working During Elections Guidance Document or the elections team.

Promotional Materials

Candidates must not incorporate the Students’ Union or University’s branding or logos on any promotional material.

If a Candidate appears on existing SU or University resources or webpages, then alternative imagery of the candidate must be used for the purposed of campaigning.

Candidates cannot use the Union’s resources or those of clubs and societies.

Election’s Penalties

Breaching the Election Regulations or other relevant Students’ Union or University policies may result in the application of a penalty.

Examples include

• receive an informal verbal warning
• receive a formal written warning
• be disqualified from the elections

Further disciplinary action may be taken against any offenders under the Students’ Union’s and University Policies. 

Financial Regulations

Candidates must not exceed their budget limits.

For all positions, candidates will be given a limit of £30 to spend which will be refunded to them.

A candidate will a limit of £30 regardless of how many positions the candidate is running for.

Candidates should complete a Candidate Expenses Claim Form by the close of voting to the Elections Team. This must detail all expenditure.

Failure to hand in the Candidate Expenses Claim Form by the deadline will result in no money being reimbursed and may lead to disciplinary action which may include disqualification.

Candidates who spend over their allotted budget will be subject to disciplinary action and may be disqualified from the Election.

You must keep a record of the costs of your campaigning materials and be able to present receipts and evidence of expenditure if requested to do so by the Deputy Returning Officer. This can be screenshots of expenditure online.

Candidates can use any item that anyone could reasonably get for free. These include but not limited to:

• Old T-shirts
• Paint
• Old Bedsheets
• Stationary
• Blu- tack/Tape/Pins
• Cardboard
• Wood
• Software accessible via a UWTSD Student Account

The deputy returning officer determines what items candidates could reasonably get for free.

Any materials used for campaigning and already owned by the candidate count towards a candidate’s campaign budget.

• Costumes - £5 per costume.

All printing is budgeted at the following rates per side regardless of source.

Single Sided

• Black and White
  • A5 - 3p
  • A4 - 5p
  • A3 - 10p
• Colour
  • A5 - 11p
  • A4 - 18p
  • A3 - 34p

Double Sided

• Black and White
  • A5 - 2p
  • A4 - 6p
  • A3 - 16p
• Colour
  • A5 - 18p
  • A4 - 32p
  • A3 - 64p

Candidates can purchase posts on social media from their budget and this will be charged at the cost applied to that candidate by the social media provider.

Candidates are permitted to recruit campaign team members with skills and use these to support their campaigns. Any paid for services must be declared on the budget sheet.

 

Financial Regulations - Transport Reimbursement

UWTSD is a multi-campus University spread across England and Wales. All students regardless of Campus can vote for all of the positions available during the elections.

During the campaigning process candidates may wish to visit other campuses to campaign to other students.

This election will trial a reimbursement scheme for travel expenses for candidates to allow them to travel to the different campuses without the associated cost.

It should be noted that this is a separate fund from the campaign allowance.

Who is Eligible

All candidates running for a full-time officer role only. (Group President, Carmarthen Campus President, Lampeter Campus President and Swansea Campus President.) 

What is a candidate entitled too.

1 return journey to each campus (excluding their home campus) during the in-person campaign week.

Or

A multi campus trip. This includes direct travel to the sites and overnight accommodation.

Arrangements can allow a candidate to travel each day in a variety of ways.

What costs are covered

• Public transport
• Accommodation

All bookings are made by the Students Union in advance.

Where Can a Candidate Go?

Stays in City of Campus

Direct Travel Only

When Can a Candidate Travel

All train travel will be off peak travel return tickets in standard class. 

Why can a Candidate Travel

This is for the purposes of campaigning only. Candidates will be required to sign into campuses and stay in contact with the Deputy Returning Officer during overnight stays.

How does the process work?

Organisation and Planning

1. Candidates must complete the Travel Planning Form by 13:00 Wednesday 1^st of March 2023. Only travel requests submitted on the form will be approved.
2. The Students’ Union Election Team will be responsible for booking all travel arrangements for the candidates.
3. The Deputy Returning Officer determines what is to be considered a reasonable travel plan.

Safety and Wellbeing

1. When a candidate arrives and departs a campus, they should visit one of the onsite polling stations to check in or out with a Students’ Union member of staff.
2. When a candidate is staying overnight they must text the Deputy Returning Officer to confirm their arrival and departure from the booked accommodation.
3. Candidates should disclose any access requirements on their Travel plans to the Elections Team.

 

Complaints & Appeals

Any member of the Students’ Union may make a complaint by completing a Complaints Form (online form), which should be supported by evidence.

All complaints must be submitted within 24 hours of the incidence occurring and by the close of voting.

Only complaints about the process of the count itself will be considered once the count has started, which must be submitted within 24 hours of the results being declared.

All completed complaint forms will be initially received by the Deputy Returning Officer. All decisions on the interpretation of the election’s rules will be made by the Deputy Returning Officer.

Candidates may appeal against decisions made by the Deputy Returning Officer and their Deputy by submitting their appeal in writing, within 24 hours of the decision being made, following the appeal procedure.

1. First stage appeal is heard by the Returning Officer; if the candidate remains dissatisfied then,
2. Second stage appeal is to the Trustee Board Nominations, Appointments and Audit Committee who will hear the case put forward by the candidate and the case put forward for imposing sanctions by the Returning Officer, or their nominated Deputy.
3. Final stage appeal is to the University Deputy Vice-Chancellor, or their nominated deputy.