► Elections

UBSU elections 2012

UBSU Elections

Elections and being an elected officer is a major part of the students’ union democratic process.
Being an officer can be a useful and unique part of university life and helping elect those people into position and then holding them to account is equally important.

There are two election points during the year, the Main elections and the By-elections.

Main elections:

The main elections are held in February/March time and this is when all the sabbatical and student officer positions are up for nomination.

By-elections:

These are held in the October/November time and is when any student officer positions not filled in the main elections are re-opened, when the faculty reps are elected and when you have the chance to run for an NUS Delegate position.

How do I run?

The process is very simple and is split into different sections:

Investigation: This is where you do your home work on the positions available and make a decision as to whether you’re the right candidate for the job!
Nomination: To run for any position you need to nominate yourself and to do this you download the forms and get 12 friends to agree and sign to say they support your nomination. You need to hand this form back to either Rebecca Heard (GM16 Luton) or Steve Ball (Students’ Union offices Bedford).
Manifesto: This is an A4 document that outlines why people should vote for you and what you’re standing for. This will be displayed around the voting areas to let people see what you’re all about. This needs to be handed in before the close of the nomination period.
Candidates meeting: Once you have officially nominated yourself, you will be invited to a meeting with all the other candidates to discuss the rules of the election and the campaigning for votes processes.
Campaigning: This is when you try and persuade people to vote for you in an attempt to win the position you’ve gone for. You will be given guidance about how to go about this.
Voting week: This is when students get to cast their votes in secret on ballot papers about who they want to see win.
Results: Once the voting is complete, the ballots will be counted and the winners announced.

Dates of the elections:

Mon 16th January- Elections Notification
Mon 6th February -Nominations Open
Mon 6th February - How and why to stand workshop - Bedford

Tues 7th Feb - How and why to stand workshop - Luton
Tues 21st Feb - close of Nominations at 3pm
Fri 24th Feb - candidates' meetings in Luton and Bedford (times to be confirmed)
Mon 27th Feb - Meet the candidates Luton
Tues 28th Feb - Meet the candidates Bedford
Thurs 1st March - Question Time Bedford 1pm
Thurs 1st March - Question Time Luton 5pm

5-9th March- voting

9th March evening - elections party and announcement of results

To find out more about the elections and how to run click here

To find out more about the Student Trustee position click here

To download the election handbook click here

To view the copy shop prices click here

To view the Job Description click here

To view the Application Forms click here

To view the Election Regulations click here

Keep up-to-date with the UBSU website or pop into the Students' Union to find out more about how to run and the positions available!