If you wish to submit a complaint against a candidate you are advised to read these rules in full, in particular the core rules. To submit your complaint use the online form linked to in the complaints section of the rules.
NUS UK Election Rules
NUS UK is run by its members and elections have an important role in this, being used to elect our political leadership. These rules set out how we run elections and cover what voters and candidates should expect when participating in elections. These rules are based on the following core principles:
- We aim to elect people in a free and fair manner
- Elections are the mechanism for our members to choose their representatives
- Wherever possible the electorate should always be the decision makers
- We are not here to give everyone an equal chance of winning, but a fair one.
Who’s who in elections
NUS Charity is the Deputy Returning Officer and the staff are responsible for the practical running of all of NUS UK’ elections, including overseeing processes for nomination, ruling on election complaints, balloting and overseeing the count.
There is also an independent Returning Officer who is responsible for setting these rules, interpreting articles, and conduct of elections as a whole. The RO does not get involved in the day-to-day running of elections. They act as an independent source of oversight and appeal with the power to make final rulings on any elections matter.
Deputy Returning Officer (“DRO”): NUS Charity ([email protected])
Returning Officer (“RO”): Staff member at Liverpool Guild of Students
Core Rules
It should be noted that these rules are the property of the RO and their designates and they alone will be the interpreter of them.
Candidates shall be responsible for the actions of their campaign teams. Candidates must take reasonable steps to ensure that their supporter’s actions comply with the campaign rules at all times and must be able to demonstrate this in the event of a complaint against them.
Candidates:
- must treat other candidates, students and members of the public with respect.
- should not undertake campaigns activity which other candidates could not also reasonably do.
- campaigns should be fully transparent and accountable to NUS UK.
- must not do anything to gain an unfair advantage.
- must not undermine the fair and democratic running of elections.
- must allow voters to cast their ballot freely and must not communicate with voters in any way once they have begun to complete their ballot. Every electronic device will be deemed a ballot box.
- must not break the law, venue specific regulations or general NUS UK policy including Code of Conduct, Social Media Policy and Staff Protocol (see below for further guidance)
- must have a commitment to anti-racism including tackling Islamophobia (as per the APPG Definition) and Antisemitism (as per the IHRA definition)
- If campaigning at NUS run events, may only undertake campaigning activities within designated spaces
- may only alter, move or remove their own campaign materials.
- may only use mailing lists where lawful to do so. In most cases, this will require the consent of the members on the list to use their details.
Budget
Candidates must not exceed their budget limits. These are:
- Full time officer roles: £150
- All other roles: £50
All candidates who have incurred expenditure must submit a written list of all campaign costs with corresponding receipts to the DRO no later than 1 hour after polls close. If candidates do not spend any money they need not make a declaration, however failure to declare expenses would be deemed a breach of these election rules and subject to sanction at the absolute discretion of the RO.
- Items freely and readily available to all candidates can be used without itemisation.
NUS UK will not reimburse campaign expenses. For certain elections NUS UK may cover certain travel costs to allow candidates’ participation in campaign events e.g. hustings. This will be communicated to candidates and will not count to campaign spending limits.
NUS UK Code of Conduct
The NUS UK Code of Conduct (‘the Code of Conduct’) aims to ensure good standards of behaviour of those who participate in NUS UK spaces. For the avoidance of doubt the Code of Conduct applies to elections candidates from the point of nomination and if holding themselves out to be election candidates. Historic incidents may be considered to be within scope of the code of conduct if the individual restates the views or comments and/or if the views or comments remain in the public domain (for example – they remain visible on a current social media profile irrespective of when posted).
In circumstances where a conduct issue is raised which falls under the scope of the Code of Conduct it is most appropriate to investigate under this policy. In all such circumstances the DRO will refer the matter to the appropriate complaints procedure as outlined in sections 5-7 of the Code of Conduct.
The DRO will take direction from the code of conduct outcome as to any sanction on candidates. As per s. 7.2 of the Code of Conduct, where there is a serious breach of the Code of Conduct, and the sanction is that the individual is no longer eligible to stand for or hold office, the DRO will automatically remove the candidate from the election.
The Elections Process
Becoming a Candidate
There are three stages to becoming a candidate in an NUS UK election. These are: determining eligibility, gathering information, submitting your application.
1. Find out if you are eligible
To be eligible to stand as an election candidate you must be a current student or sabbatical officer at a Students’ Union which is an affiliated member of NUS UK at the time of the election.
In addition, for certain roles there are additional eligibility criteria which you must meet. These criteria can be found in the list of current live elections
For Full Time Officer roles you must be nominated by other students. You must receive nominations from students or sabbatical officers in different Students’ Unions (one can be from your SU). The number of nominations required and details about requirements for nominators will be made available with candidate information.
2. Tell the voters about yourself
We also ask that you prepare information for your candidacy
- A head and shoulders photograph
- Depending on the election we would usually ask for further supporting info to tell voters about yourself
None of the above information is mandatory, it is however beneficial to your candidacy that you submit this. You will need to submit this by the deadline for submitting your candidate application. Any information received after the deadline we cannot guarantee to include.
3. Submit your application
You must do this using our online form by the stated deadline. If an alternative format is required by a candidate they should contact [email protected] to request this. A link to the form and candidacy deadlines can be found at https://www.nus.org.uk/democracy
Any applications made after the deadline will not be considered. You should allow plenty of time to account for any technical issues. Once your candidacy application has been submitted you will receive an automatic email. If you do not receive this email or you believe there have been technical issues with submitting your nomination you must let us know before the deadline.
On the form you will be asked for the following information. We advise you gather this together in advance of submitting your application
- Your name and contact details
- Proof of your student status (this can include a current student card showing your dates of study, a letter from your University or Students’ Union confirming student status).
- Details of your nominators (if applicable)
- You will also be asked to declare that you have read and understood these rules and will make your campaign team aware of them.
4. Candidate Preparation process
Before the announcement of candidates there will be a period of candidate preparation during which no campaigning may take place. For candidates standing for Full Time Officer positions this will include:
- Checking of nominations to ensure all candidates are eligible to stand for election. If further information is required candidates will be asked to provide this within a specified timeframe.
- A candidate declaration covering upholding of NUS UK’ Articles of Association, policies and detailing any historical statements or conduct issues which may come to light in an election. For the avoidance of doubt, depending on the declarations made this may lead to further investigation and you may be asked to take certain steps before you can be declared eligible to stand.
- You must be able to confirm that you have, or reasonably expect to have, the right to work in the UK for the two year period of office. See role profile for more details and during the process we will work to support international candidates 1-2-1 to discuss options.
- Candidate support, briefing and training
The purpose of this process is to support candidates and to provide due diligence on candidates.
Further details will be published with details of nominations. For volunteer roles the DRO will publish further details and this would usually involve a condensed process based on the above.
The DRO will then let you know if you have met the eligibility criteria and are accepted as a candidate. It is the responsibility of the candidate to provide required information and actions before the advertised announcement of candidates. Should these not be provided the DRO will not be able to confirm your candidacy. Decisions on eligibility may only be appealed to the RO on the grounds of the process not being correctly applied and must be submitted no later than one week before the advertised announcement of candidates.
We will then announce the candidates for election. Only once this is completed, campaigning can begin.
Re-Open Nominations (RON)
Re-Open Nominations or 'RON' is a democratic mechanism to allow voters to choose not to elect any of the candidates in the election. If RON wins the election, then nominations may re-open and this will give more people the chance to stand for the position. If RON is elected in a multiple seat election behind a winning candidate this creates a vacancy and nominations may reopen for this vacancy.
Campaigning for RON must be accountable to the electorate and RON campaigns are governed by these election rules. Only registered RON campaigners may run a RON campaign. In order to register to run a Re-Open Nominations (RON) campaign, you must do this by contacting [email protected]. In all cases this must be not more than 48 hours after the publication of candidates or before the opening of polling whichever is earliest.
Campaigning
For each election, there will be a campaigning period where you can get your message out to voters. The DRO will determine when the campaigning period begins and when you are able to commence campaigning. In addition to your campaigning activities, the DRO will let you know about opportunities to get your message out to voters. These may include:
- Information about candidates on the NUS website and social media
- Hustings – either online or in-person
- Opportunities for voters to pose questions to candidates
- Speeches at the Conference that elects the position
The DRO will communicate to candidates ahead of the election what election activities will be taking place.
Voting
For each election, the DRO will announce the method of voting. Voting will be by secret ballot and be conducted either in electronic format or, in exceptional circumstances, in paper format. Ballots will display the chosen name of the candidate and the position they are standing for. Online voting will also display supporting information and pictures (where supplied by the candidate).
Each election is voted on by conference delegates. Ballots will be issued to each delegate of the conference who has been registered online by the stated deadline. For electronic votes a link will be sent to the email address for each delegate – we strongly advise voters to check their emails and find their voting links well in advance of close of voting.
Any technical issues with voting links must be reported to [email protected] 24 hours in advance of close of voting. Whilst every effort will be made to rectify issues we may not have time to do this. It is the responsibility of voters to ensure in good time that they are able to properly cast their vote.
Elections with one position will take place via Alternative Vote, elections with more than one position will use Single Transferable Vote.
The Count
The DRO will arrange for the count to occur as soon as possible after the close of polling. In setting a time for the count the DRO will consider the need to announce the election result in a timely manner to candidates and voters along with the requirement to have ruled on all outstanding election appeals and to perform checks on the voting data. The count will be attended by the DRO and/or RO and as appropriate, staff supporting the election or any other person the DRO deems appropriate to ensure the transparency and good conduct of the election. Count sheets will be shared with any member on request.
For electronic counts, candidates will be sent the count sheet in order to scrutinise and ask questions to the DRO. In line with NUS’ Privacy Policy we are unable to share voter information with candidates or their representatives but will provide as much anonymised information as possible to ensure transparency. In the event of a paper count taking place, candidates may send one observer to the count for their election but cannot attend the election count themselves.
Announcing the Result
Election results will be announced on the NUS website as soon as is practicable after the count. Results will be shared with candidates prior to public announcement.
Complaints
Complaints may be submitted by any student (as defined in Schedule 1.34 of NUS UK’s Articles of Association), any Member (as defined in Articles 10.4 and 10.5) or Associate Member (per Article 13). All complaints should contain the following information:
- Which of the guiding principles the candidate is alleged to have breached
- Information about the nature of the complaint, including where relevant, dates times and locations
- An idea of what the complainant wants to happen as a result of the complaint
- Supporting evidence to back up the complaint
All complaints must be submitted using the online form with relevant evidence. This can be found at https://forms.nus.org.uk/view.php?id=417445
If there are any issues with the online form please contact [email protected]
The DRO will investigate the complaint and determine whether it will be upheld. If upheld, possible courses of action can include, but are not limited to, the following:
- A public warning
- Directing candidates to remove election materials/delete social media posts
- Suspending a candidate’s campaigning activities for a given period of time
- In extreme circumstances, the DRO may disqualify a candidate
The deadline for the submission of complaints is one hour after the close of polling.
Appeals
If a student/member/candidate is dissatisfied with the outcome of a complaint, they may be able to request the opportunity to appeal. The appeal may only be made by the impacted individual and only in circumstances where a sanction has been imposed, not where a complaint has been dismissed. Appeals will be considered by the the RO who acts as an independent point of appeal, having not been involved in the original complaint investigation.
A request for an appeal should be on the following grounds, including but not confined to:
- a review of the procedures followed when considering the original complaint
- a consideration of whether the outcome was reasonable in all the circumstances
- new material evidence which the student was unable, for valid reasons, to provide earlier in the process
The appeal stage will not usually consider the issues afresh or involve a further investigation. The RO will consider firstly whether the request meets the above criteria to be considered as an appeal. If this is met the RO will consider the merits of the appeal request.
Appeals must be made in writing to [email protected] and must be submitted before the commencement of the election count. Appeals will be considered by the RO whose decision will be final.
Data Protection Statement
All candidate data will be processed in line with NUS UK’s Privacy Policy.
Data sharing: In order to facilitate the process of elections as laid out in these rules and supporting documentation, it will be necessary to share candidate personal data with third party data processors (e.g. to the RO, third party contractors supporting elections). This is an essential part of the elections process.
Data retention: We will only use and store your information for as long as it is required for the purposes it was collected for. How long it will be stored for depends on the information in question, what it is being used for and, sometimes, statutory legal requirements. See the privacy policy for more detail.
Archiving: As an organisation that archives information for public records, we take privacy seriously. We only collect and process the personal data necessary for our archiving purposes, in accordance with data protection laws. See the privacy policy for more detail.
