1. Running Successful Elections
NUS Elections Support 2015
NUS Local

2. Welcome & Introduction
Ask delegates to introduce themselves (name,

3. Session Content Lessons from the 2014 Elections Report
A look at headline statistics and key recommendations
2. What do we mean by free and fair elections?;
We know there are very different interpretations of these terms across the country, why? who are we being fair to?
             
3. Making elections a positive experience for everyone;
Do students’ unions elections need to be exhausting for candidates, stressful for staff and invasive for voters?
4. Getting the most from NUS' elections support;
How does the Returning Officer System work? How to access support throughout the election season   
These are the things we’re going to run through today

4. Lessons learnt from the
2014 Elections Report

5. 2014 Elections Report
96% of student’s unions held a candidates question time or hustings session
79% of students’ unions facilitated the use of video for candidates to use during the elections process and posted them online.
Only 1 union in the country used a first past the post voting system, everyone else used an alternative voting method (ATV or STV)
87% student’s unions ran their elections using an online system only.
These are not the main data sets from the research, they are just notable because they are noticeable different from 2013 (hustings and online video went up significantly)
Nearly all

6. 2014 Elections Report
Continuing the trend that the more candidates you have, the more votes you tend to get overall
Consistently shows a strong trend between overall turnout percentage and the number of candidates standing in an election.
Candidates from a broad range of constituencies, whether faculty based, demographic or otherwise, usually lead to increased engagement in elections.

7. 2014 Elections Report
No correlation between campaigning time v turnout, or voting time v turnout
dispels the myth that a longer campaigning or voting period means increased engagement in elections, as there is little evidence for either.
Both graphs show that there is very little correlation between them.

8. 2014 Elections Report
New stats for this year - women almost 3 times less likely to stand, 3 times more likely to win when they do
Unions that put resource in targeted programmes to encourage women (and other under-represented groups), saw increases in candidate mix and overall turnout.
Therefore we would recommend targeted programmes of training and development to encourage women to stand in elections. Women are half as likely to stand, but twice as likely to win.

9. 2014 Elections Report Recommendations Candidates (Volume and Mix)
Union Resourcing
Campaigning and Voting Period - When considering the length of voting period, consistency of messaging, academic calendar and candidate welfare should be placed as a higher priority that increasing voter turnout in this context.

10. What do we mean by ‘free and fair’

11. Making elections a positive experience
Principles
Future Proof your regulations
If you can’t police it or sanction against it, get rid of it
If it has no impact, get rid of it
If you legislate, people think it’s vital
Remember that equality of opportunity is not the same as forcing all candidates to be equal; they’re not!
Equality of opportunity for voters priority
Usually, the fewer rules, the better!

12. Making elections a positive experience
Recommendations
Ask for written confirmation from the institution that the union’s trustee board has the delegated responsibility to appoint a returning officer (or at least written confirmation that they are happy with the current choice).
Candidates should have equal access to resources and opportunities, meaning if someone seeks an endorsement of a local take away for example, they are free to do so.
Voters must vote themselves, however putting in rules about distances from electronic devices are unhelpful, judge situations on whether or not the voter feels pressured/intimidated.
Allow candidates to criticise each others ideas & actions, not who they are
Facilitate a daily meeting amongst candidates and DRO in the elections period to act as a clearing house for complaints and to maintain a healthy atmosphere.

13. Making elections a positive experience
‘annoying’ rules….
No slates (de-politicising the elections)
No campaigning in the union building
Candidates can spend whatever they want
Deducted votes used as a disciplinary measure
Late nomination

14. Making elections a positive experience
Culture
How do you encourage a positive culture amongst candidates?
How do you protect the union’s relationships with its members?
How do you introduce people to democracy?

15. Getting the most from
NUS' elections support

16. NUS Elections Support Service
Why do we exist?
Fairness
Adherence to process
We are here to elect people rather than exclude people
We are not here to ‘police’ every aspect of the elections

17. NUS Elections Support Service
What’s the background?
Independent national body
Provides assurance to institutions that regulatory obligations under Education Act are met
Sharing best practice across the wider movement

18. NUS Elections Support Service
2015
This year Alison Chappell has been named as National Returning Officer. Alison has years of experience in Students’ Unions and oversees NUS’ work in developing and resourcing strong students’ unions. Alison’s many years of service in the student movement make her the obvious choice to ensure consistency in fairness across the country in all elections
Consistency in the ‘big’ decisions – exclusions, re-running elections and conducting investigations
NUS Contact – keeping a familiar face for unions

19. NUS Elections Support Service
How will it work?
NUS’ returning officer supported by network of NUS Contacts and Deputy Returning Officers on campus
Maintain link between you and the panel through your NUS Contact – sharing local context and knowledge of rules and regulations

20. Scenarios

21. Scenario 1
The Deputy Returning officer calls at 12.30pm to say that the nominations deadline at 12 has passed. The current Vice-President Activities who is re-standing handed in their form at 12.03pm, the DRO is asking you if they can still accept their nomination form?
- no (without mitigating circumstances), nomination deadline is probably the only hard and fast deadline for candidates that should exist as it effects the running of election (when do you cut off?)
- notify as although not technically an exclusion its as good as

22. Scenario 2
Polling starts at 10am, at 9.15am the DRO calls to say that out of 22,500 voters in the system, 27 are ineligible. What do you do?
- if there is technical capability to remove votes based on student id numbers, allow to go ahead
- if not, delay the opening of polls and add on time at the end of the voting period depending on how much time is lost

23. Scenario 3
The DRO s to say a student has nominated themselves who has had their student status suspended pending investigation from the University about a disciplinary issue.
- if the situation cannot be resolved by the opening of polls, allow candidate to stand with the understanding that they will automatically be removed from post if their student status is removed. This also happens with study visa’s and people taking time out of their studies.

24. Scenario 4
A local rule says candidates cannot campaign in the Library to as not to disturb students studying. You get two reports of members of a candidate’s campaign team going around computers in the library asking people to consider voting for their friend. What do you advise the DRO to do?
- Formal warning to the candidate explaining they are responsible for their campaigners, if they repeat it’s considered for exclusion
- If the voters feel intimidated in to voting or campaigners vote on their behalf then consider for exclusion

25. Scenario 5
2 weeks before polling the DRO is made aware of a Facebook group for a candidate’s campaign, the official campaigning period doesn’t start for another week. What do you advise?
- Ask the candidate to take the group down, until the campaigning period starts
- recommend a clarification of the ‘campaigning’ period not to include online for next year in RO report

26. Scenario 6
There is limit of 10 t-shirts per candidate, several candidates are saying that Jimmy Phillips has got 12. The DRO says they can’t prove anything until a picture emerges from a Wednesday night in the Union’s nightclub, Asylum of Jimmy with 11 of his campaigners in T-shirts. What do you advise?
- Ban from using T-shirts for the rest of the campaign

27. Scenario 7
The rules say that all candidates must attend a briefing the week before polling opens, 2 candidates do not show and the DRO asks you what to do the day after?
- Advise the DRO to ask the candidates why they couldn’t attend, as long as they come back with a decent reason, its ok
- Note in RO report to change the rule, election briefing are opportunities for the candidates to help them in the process, if some choose not to use opportunity then that’s up to them

28. Scenario 8
The DRO receives a complaint that a candidate’s campaign team were in Halls late at night with iPads, asking people for their login details and voting on their behalf. You instruct the DRO to investigate and they have CCTV of the teams entering and leaving the halls and the voters from the complainants were cast at a time that is consistent with the complaint
- Exclusion

29. Scenario 9
A candidate has got a local nightclub to endorse them and has got them to put up their posters and the DJ does 3 shout-outs over a busy student night where another candidate and complains, what do you advise.
- The opportunity to seek endorsements was available to all candidates, so unless there is a particular rule saying otherwise, its fine

30. Scenario 10
5 candidate are organising as a slate, one candidate is found to have broken a rule serious enough for exclusion, what happens to the others?
- Exclusion

31. NUS Elections Support Service
FAQ’s
Who do I contact if I have a problem?
In the first instance your NUS Contact. They will have been trained to advise on common questions/problems and if there is any uncertainty or if the issue is sufficiently complex, then the case will be referred to the Returning Officer. As a matter of course, all exclusions will be referred to the Returning Officer

32. NUS Elections Support Service
FAQ’s
Who can help me with briefing candidates?
We have produced a series of video resources that should help DROs locally to brief candidates. If you have any specific requirements, your NUS Contact will be able to help.
Our series of videos can be found online through the following links:
Background to Elections, Candidate Briefing and ATV Explained.

33. NUS Elections Support Service
FAQ’s
What happens if the DRO disagrees with the NUS Contacts advice?
They can go directly to Alison via

34. NUS Elections Support Service
FAQ’s
At National Conference 2014, delegates passed a policy to ensure that delegations to National Conference would be made up of ‘at least 50% self-defining women, rounded down’. NUS have produced this guidance for students’ unions to provide support for implementing changes to how National Conference delegations are elected

35. Questions & Close