Students’ Union Elections

Amanda Stanford NUS Learning & Development Advisor

What is the role of the Union?

To develop and enhance the academic, social and cultural experiences of members by: being student led and student focused through an open and transparent democratic structure making it easier for students to participate, improve their skills and enjoy new experiences implementing best practice on sustainability, the environment and ethical issues being committed to equality of opportunity, inclusivity and a high level of integrity being outwardly looking, open and inclusive of the wider community being committed to the development of staff

You are a Change Maker

Mature Students International Students Lesbian Gay Bi and Trans (LGBT) Students

Women Ethics & Environment Entertainments

Student Rep Hall Rep

Elections Mechanisms for appointing people to research opinion, represent views and make decisions Supported by democratic structures for student body to set campaigning direction and hold elected Officers to account Elected Officers should strive to make improvements to the student experience Change can be made in: – The Union – The University – The wider community

Elected not Selected Elected Most popular Policies and ideas Credibility Selected by the people Best fit for the students Selected Most suitable Skills and knowledge Experience Selected by experts Best fit for the job

Your Role If elected, you will be expected to: Represent students: find out and react to student opinion Deliver manifesto pledges Help the Union develop its services Drive campaigns Uphold the constitution and bye laws Attend meetings

MARKETING METHODS: Posters Flyers Face to face promotion The Union Website Marketing Facebook Twitter Plasma Screens Press Releases or event invitations Marketing and Publicity

PRINTED MATERIAL: Printed posters and flyers can be a great way to target students in high footfall areas, but it is a method won predominantly on the law of averages i.e. 1 in every 20 may read your poster or 1 in every 10 students flyered may look up more information. Marketing and Publicity

PRINTED MATERIAL: Keep posters simple. Stick to your key messages and don’t try and clutter it with too much information or too many colours or graphics. Marketing and Publicity

FACE TO FACE PROMOTION Face to face promotion is a fancy term for talking to people. Often the best way to get your message out there is to go out and talk to people yourself. It’s also the easiest way to tailor your message to your different target audiences. Marketing and Publicity

UNION WEBSITE The Union Website will promote the Elections generically and be the primary method by which students can vote. It’s also where all students can find your manifesto so don’t forget to promote WHERE students should vote for you. Marketing and Publicity

MARKETING You are not allowed to use any sports club or society mailing lists in your campaigns, however, how many people can you message through your own personal or through facebook mail? You’ll have a lot of contact details for friends and colleagues that perhaps you haven’t used or even thought about in a while. Make sure you are short to the point and have an action – to vote for you! Marketing and Publicity

FACEBOOK Facebook has changed the internet. 20% of all webpages visited last year in the UK were on Facebook. Facebook has 300 million users and its pages receive 2.7 BILLION likes every day. Pages are preferable to groups for promotional purposes. Marketing and Publicity

TWITTER 175 million tweets are tweeted every day. Twitter is a fantastic tool for creating buzz about your organisation or event and expanding your reach, when retweeted. The Union will as policy retweet all tweets that and #NorthamptonElections Marketing and Publicity

PLASMA SCREENS There are a number of plasma screens all over campus which you can ask to use in the promotion of your campaign. There is no cost to this advertisement They will need time to upload it, it won’t be immediate. CONTACTS: Hayley Hunter – NBS Paul Bramble – Education Karin Ferngren – Social Sciences Gail Redmond – Library Marketing and Publicity

NUNews Your manifestos will all be made available in the next edition of NUNews so distribute these – it’s a great way of getting your message out at no cost to you! Marketing and Publicity

WHAT YOU GET You will receive a campaign budget of £20. All expenses used in your campaign must come from this budget. You may not use your own personal funds to supplement it. If you are a member of a slate you will receive £10 plus £10 for every candidate within your slate. E.g. slate of 4 will receive £50. Your Campaign Budget

WHAT YOU GET Every individual candidate will also receive the following: 250 A5 Flyers 10 A3 Posters 10 A4 Posters 150 Stickers Your Campaign Budget

Election Calendar Campaigning Begins: 4 March at 9am Avenue Question Time: 6 March at 6pm Park Question Time: 7 March at 6pm Voting (online) Begins: 11 March at 9am Voting (online) Ends: 15 March at 5pm

Rules Campaigning Nominees and supporters must adhere to the rules of the University and the rules of the Union and must not break the law. Candidates or slates are responsible for the actions of supporters assisting in their campaign. All Election Regulations apply to supporters as well as candidates. It is the responsibility of the candidate(s) to ensure, as far as reasonably possible, that anyone assisting in their campaign read, fully understand, and abide by these regulations.

Rules (2) Use of official websites, such as the Union website and clubs’ and societies’ websites, may not be used to promote any candidate. All purchases must be made from the campaigning allowance (£20). All expenditure must be recorded using the form provided, with itemised receipts. Receipts must be submitted before the count. Posters and publicity must not be put up prior to the start of campaigning. Campaigning materials must be removed on the last day of voting. Any costs incurred for removal of materials, damage to property or cleaning as a result of campaigning will be billed to candidates. All printing must be done in the Students’ Union. Candidates must recycle campaign material, where possible.

Rules (3) Canvassing It is the responsibility of candidates to ensure that they have the necessary authority and/or permission to canvass in University-owned accommodation. Any complaints made by residents regarding the conduct of candidates during canvassing shall be dealt with by the Returning Officer. Candidates shall not canvass in the clearly marked area designated for polling or enter the area except to cast their personal vote. No candidate shall use Union meetings as a forum for campaigning, except for the election Question Times, if applicable. No candidate or supporter shall use sporting fixtures or training sessions or society events as a method of campaigning. No candidate must coerce students in computer rooms to vote there and then. Flyering in computer rooms is permitted.

Rules (4) Requests for interpretation of regulations or complaints about the conduct of candidates shall be made in the first instance to the Deputy Returning Officer in writing. The Returning Officer, assisted by their assistants if necessary, shall investigate all complaints and make adjudication according to the seriousness and complexity of the complaint. In the event of a candidate or slate being found to have broken one or more of these Regulations the Deputy Returning Officer shall have the power to: – issue a verbal or written warning – impose a fine on the campaign budget – restrict the amount of publicity available to the candidate or slate – disqualify the candidate or to take other action as they see fit In the event that a candidate wishes to appeal a decision of the Deputy Returning Officer, they must do so within 48 hours of the ruling or 1 hour before the start of balloting, whichever is sooner. They should address their appeal to the Returning Officer whose ruling is final. All rulings made by the Returning Officer or the Deputy Returning Officer shall be posted on the website. Candidates are expected to consult these regularly.

Rules (5) If in doubt, ask! Candidates are advised to check in each day.

Question Time Given 2 minutes to give a speech You will be asked 3 pre-submitted questions and given 1 minute to answer each. Part-time Officers will go first, and Sabbatical Officers last. The order will be chosen at random. Candidates are asked to arrive at 5.45pm each night. Free pizza will be on offer to the audience: bring friends! You want to look like a popular candidate!

Question Time Rules Attendance is compulsory. Failure to attend may result in disqualification. All candidates must deliver a speech, then answer questions from the floor. Candidates shall refer to their opponents in a factual manner. Candidates should concentrate upon issues and are not permitted to make derogatory or personal remarks about other candidates, University staff or individual students. Speeches should not refer to the direct content of other candidates’ manifestos.

Voting STV (Single Transferable Vote) This voting method is more democratic, and takes into account more opinions from members. All voters need to do is number the candidates in order of preference for each position on the ballot paper. There must always be an option to ‘Re-Open Nominations (RON) for example, the choice of ‘I don’t want any of these people to win. This must be on ALL ballot papers.

Voting Counting STV Count up all the first choice votes (all the 1s). Include RON at every stage and just imagine it’s another person standing for the position. The candidate with the lowest score gets knocked out (call them Person A). That’s the end of the first round. Look at all the votes that put person A as their first choice. Transfer all of the 2s from those votes onto the totals for the candidates still left. Whoever has the lowest number will be removed and the process repeated as long as necessary, bumping up all the votes when people get knocked out! Whoever’s left at the end wins!!!

When former NUS Treasurer Dave Lewis re- stood as President at his Union (Reading Uni) he almost failed… Voting

RUSU President 06: Round 1

exclude ron exclude mike

RUSU President 06: Round 2

RUSU President 06: Round 3 exclude elinor

RUSU President 06: Round 4 Dave wins by 4

Last year, Pankaj Llawani received the most first preference votes for President. Tim Joaquim won following the elimination of other candidates. As a tip – if students intend to vote for another candidate above you, try get their #2 vote. Voting

Online Voting Students need to register on the website then validate their account Guidance on front page of the website

Skills There are a number of skills that will see you in good stead for Campaigning. These include: Public Speaking Leading a Campaign Team Networking Creativity/Initiative

Public Speaking The ability to present yourself in front of an audience and speak clearly and authoritatively on a subject will not only lead to campaign success, but is key to the role of any elected Officer. As an Officer your ability to effectively communicate with the students you represent is paramount. Otherwise, what are you doing?

Public Speaking Top Tips on Public Speaking Know your material Practice makes perfect Prepare bullet point notes, not a script Know your audience Concentrate on your key message Relax!

Leading a Campaign Team Without a Campaign Team behind you, you are unlikely to spread your message as far as you would like or as far to win. Word of mouth is a powerful tool. Its important to know how to manage and how to lead and to know the difference between the two.

Leading a Campaign Team How to Lead a Campaign Team Be clear of your expectations Know your campaign team’s motivations Support your team Provide clear guidance Stay in contact!

Leading a Campaign Team How to Manage a Campaign Team Be clear in your own head what needs to be done. Create a list of roles and responsibilities, keeping in mind that some of these may be time specific. Put together a contact list and know your team’s availability, skills and contacts. Timetable your Campaign Team and ensure they are aware of when and where they should be.

Leading a Campaign Team Why Students Vote 72% were asked directly 70% had seen a poster or flyer 60% knew what the candidate stood for 29% had read the manifestos 4% had read the Union’s message board

Leading a Campaign Team Some roles you might want: A Campaign Manager Marketing Coordinator Online Marketing Coordinator Hall Reps School Reps Sports/Society Reps

Leading a Campaign Team The Difference between Management & Leadership Managers have subordinates, Leaders have followers. A Manager is work focussed, authoritative, has objectives and tells his/her team what to do. A Leader has vision, passion, persuasion and sells that vision to his/her team in order to meet their aims.

Networking Campaigning by its very nature is all about networking, about expanding your reach and conveying your message to a greater audience. Again, it is also a key skill you will need as an Officer so Campaigning is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate or develop it.

Networking Top Tips for Networking Understand their needs before pushing your own goals. You don’t need to know the most people, just the right people. Don’t leave networking to chance, make a plan and be strategic. Provide as much value as you can. What is in it for them in developing a relationship with you? is easy to send and just as easy to ignore, look at the value of the relationship and invest the time that it is worth.

Creativity and Initiative You might not think this a key skill, however demonstrated creativity and initiative is far more likely to capture the imagination of the population than something repeated again and again. Think about what would appeal to you and how you might convey your message in a more meaningful way. How might these relate to your manifesto pledges?

Creativity and Initiative You are on a limited budget. How might you be able to get the most value out of this? A flashmob costs nothing, how might this increase your message reach compared to the cost of flyers? Similarly, what value does sweets add to your campaign compared to the printing of an equal cost of posters? Which will have the greatest effect on voter conversion?

Examples

Campaign Tips Pick a campaign colour and ensure your promotional material is consistently produced using it. Ensure there is consistency in your message. What are you for? Make enough T Shirts for your key Campaign Team. Ensure your campaign colour is one that your ‘on the ground’ volunteers will have in abundance. Primark is a good place to start for cheap Campaign T-shirts. Stickers are a relatively cheap method by which to spread your message. Design something simple and bold. They are well worth the investment. Sweets are great, but how much value do they add? Is someone who was unlikely to vote before, likely to vote for you after a free sweet? They are only useful for the use in swing votes. Use sparingly.

Campaign Tips Create a Facebook group – mail your supporters through this and create any campaign events you need your supporters at. Facebook and social media provides a medium through which to directly converse with the electorate. Don’t simply use it to advertise your pledges, use it to DISCUSS. Keep your messages short, concise and impactful. Point them in the direction of where they can find more information – Facebook, website or volunteer. Get yourself out and about and SEEN! Visibility is key in any election. Ensure you timetable volunteers appropriately and get round as much of the electorate as possible.