Democratic Responsibilities and Elections

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE HANDOVER PACK DEADLINE IS WEEK 2 TERM 3 (Societies), AND ELECTIONS NEED TO BE COMPLETED BEFORE THE END OF WEEK 9, TERM 2.

How to Run Elections Guidance

Key Information

• Elections for society/club exec need to be completed before the end of Week 9, Term 2 unless given written and explicit dispensation by the SU to have this deadline extended.
• Every club and society must hold annual elections where all exec are elected.
• This also includes representative roles who are elected to ensure communities within Society/ Sports Clubs are properly represented.
• The eligibility to vote or run for a ‘representative’ executive members to members who self-identify as part of the corresponding community. This restriction must follow any Students’ Union guidance issued regarding compliance with data protection legislation.If there are any questions with this please contact the Student Voice Team.
• If you want to run an online election through the SU then please contact the Student Voice Team or fill out the online formhere, please note there is no requirement to use our system.
• If you hold elections yourself (not through the SU system) you must provide a proof of election which is linked and detailed below.

Pre-Election

Changing the composition of your exec:

• The composition of your exec should be detailed within your club’s constitution, and alterations to this will require the approval of your club’s membership at a general meeting.
• To hold a general meeting, you need to give your club’s membership 1 weeks’ notice of the event and any motions you as an exec intend to bring forward. Motions from members can be brought on the day if needed.
• Quoracy requirements for a general meeting are a minimum 7% of your membership. This can be higher if this is put in your constitution. SU staff may in circumstances that they consider exceptional temporarily amend a Club’s or Society’s quorum following a request from society or clubs.
• We require holding at least one (annual) general meeting a year as recognised good practice in any case, but if you are looking to reshape your exec then you will need to hold one before the election (an Emergency General Meeting/EGM).

Before the day:

Members must be given at least 2 weeks notice of the election date by email circulation/ social media post. The nominations period must also be open for at least 1 week and can only open once all members have been notified of the election date.

Info that must go out to club members at least 2 week before the election includes:

• The positions open for election
• The nominations period and how a member may nominate themselves
• The voting period and how a member can vote
• How absent members may vote if unable to attend an in-person election (hybrid options/proxy voting etc...). Remember all members must have an equal opportunity to access hustings and voting:
  • You must consider disability access and length of time elections are held over
  • You must conduct elections to be accessible in the English language
  • Must allow members to vote who are on years abroad/distance learning/part-time/unable to attend

All standard members who have held memberships for at least 14 days before voting begins can stand for election in any position. All positions must hold their own separate elections. Associate/honorary members cannot stand. Elections can run in a meeting or online.

There cannot be requirements or conditions for running for or voting for exec positions outside of being a member of the Society/ Club. For example, you cannot limit nominations for the President role to those who have already been on exec nor could you limit voting for Men’s first team captain to the first team players only.

As an Exec member you represent all members of your society and club and therefore you must allow all members to nominate and vote in these elections.

No candidate may use Society or Club resources to promote their campaign. Likewise, no exec member may promote or use Society or Club resources to promote any candidate over another.

Candidates manifestos may not contain inappropriate language including:

• Expletives
• Sexual references
• Encouragement of excessive drinking/drunkenness
• Drug-taking references
• Discriminatory language

During Election:

Votes must be cast and counted using a First Post the Post or Single Transferable Vote electoral system agreed by a Society or Club General meeting/specified in the Constitution prior to the election. If requested a secret ballot can be held.

We would recommend the use of STV for all elections, however.

Voting must reach quorum.

Quoracy requirements are again 7% of the club membership, and re-Open Nominations (R.O.N.) must be a candidate for all positions being elected. The minimum quorum does not apply to those for representative roles.

All standard members who have held membership for at least 14 days are eligible to vote. Honorary and associate members cannot vote in elections.

If R.O.N is elected to a position then nominations for that post are be re-opened at a later date.

Votes should be counted by a current member of the Society or Club without a conflict of interest (e.g. an outgoing member) this person is known and will serve as the deputy- returning officer of the election. The returning officer (a sabbatical officer, or SU staff member) can be requested to count or offer independent scrutiny depending on availability. Support can therefore be provided for election counts and complaints if needed.

Society/Club members should receive the provisional exec election results no later than 5 working days after voting has closed by the exec in case of a meeting ballot or by the relevant SU staff if conducted through the SU system.

Results are provisional for 7 working days after members are notified to allow for complaints, which can be put to adjudication panel (usually a sabbatical officer, or SU staff member) for decision.

After Elections

If you have used the SU provided system with which clubs/ societies can hold their elections, there is nothing left for you to do.

The SU does require proof of election. Please bear in mind if you run your election through the SU website then you do not need to provide further proof of election. If you have run your election externally to the SU then please provide the following:

• The format/site used for election (e.g. paper ballots, Google forms etc.) and a brief outline of the process used to nominate candidates and collect votes.
• List of positions up for election & successful candidates.
• Timeline of election: dates of announcement to members (with at least 14 days' notice for voting), dates of nomination window (at least 7 days) and voting (if online, at least 48 hours).
• Minutes of any meeting/voting (If in a teams call or equivalent, you could alternatively provide a recording or transcript of the meeting) .
• Please include the number of votes case for each candidate in the minutes
• See an example 'proof of election' document here
• See a guide to minuting a Society/ Club meeting here.

With these proof of elections please keep them for when you are completing your handover pack.

Key Links

To submit an election through the SU please follow this link: Society and Sport Club Elections.

If there are any questions please email please contact the Student Voice Team.

Candidates

Who can nominate themselves?

Any standard member can nominate themselves for a position

How?

Inform a member of the current Exec committee you wish to run for a particular position, attend the general meeting and, if you wish, say a few words about why you would make a good candidate for the position. If you cannot attend the meeting you can send in a short paragraph and have someone read it on your behalf. If election is online then members self-nominate via the SU website.

Voting

Any standard member may vote provided they have been a member for 14 days or more. If requested a secret ballot can be held. Voting must reach quorum. Voting will take place at a meeting or if online then for a period of at least 48 hours.

Results

• Provisional election results will be communicated to the society no later than 3 working days after voting has closed. By the Exec in the case of a meeting ballot or by the relevant Societies/Sports Coordinator if conducted online.
• Results are provisional for 7 working days after members are notified to allow for complaints, which can be put to adjudication panel for decision

• If they resign within 2 weeks of the Exec election, the exec or Society/Club Coordinator should
  1. Recount the votes cast (if preference voting was used, redistribute preference votes of the withdrawn candidate starting again in round 1) and award the position to the candidate with the subsequent highest votes
  2. If a) not possible, Re-Open Nominations for that positon
• If the member of the Exec resigns after that period the current exec can
  1. Leave the position unfilled as long as it is not the Chair, Treasurer or Secretary
  2. Co-opt a member to temporarily take on the responsibilities of that role for no longer than 10 weeks
  3. Hold a by-election amongst all members if there are more than 10 weeks remaining in the tenancy of the position

• This means removing a member of a society or club exec. The members mitigating circumstances must be considered before no confidence and the Sports/Socs Officer must have been consulted
• Must relate to fulfilment of the role only (e.g. not fulfilling core responsibilities, not attending meetings, abusing conflicts of interest, breaking SU code of conduct)
• Must have proposer and seconder who may be any standard members of club/soc
• Members must have equal opportunity to speak for and against the motion- the person the motion concerns to be given first right of refusal to speak against
• Passed if 2/3s majority in a secret ballot of an Exec meeting with at least half the Exec present (not carried in a tie situation)
• Successful votes of no confidence trigger a by-election. All club/soc members shall be informed of the result of any subsequent by-election

• Constitutions – All clubs and societies should hold a constitution recognised by us, and amending or changing this needs to be done at an AGM / EGM then ratified by Societies Committee
• Constitutions – All club and society constitutions are overridden by SU bylaws and regulations if they contravene
• Exec Elections – All club and society exec members must be elected by their members annually, with no exceptions
• Exec Elections – This includes so-called ‘non-exec committee’, such as Freshers and Postgraduate Reps
• Elections Proof – If a society or club wishes to hold an election outside of our system, we require proof of these elections running freely and fairly (minutes of AGM, evidence of system used, multiple statements of corroboration etc.)