Elections handbook finalised

Elections Handbook – October 2016

Important Contacts Students’ Union President Matt Greenhalgh 01695 657301 supresident@edgehill.ac.uk

Deputy Returning Officer Lauren Beckett 01695 657301 beckettl@edgehill.ac.uk

Deputy Returning Officer Cleve Rushton 01695 657301 cleve.rushton@edgehill.ac.uk

Important Dates 

Nominations Close: Friday 14th October at 12 noon

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Candidate Briefing: Friday 14th October at 1.30pm

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Voting: Tuesday 18th October 9am – Thursday 20th October at 3pm

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Results: Wednesday Thursday 20th October at 4.30pm

The Students’ Union in brief…

We are Student Led The Students’ Union is a student led organisation so ultimately it’s the students who control it. The Students’ Union is run by students for students. This means that students, through the officers they elect and the activities they get involved in, make the decisions and ultimately decide the direction of their Union!

We are about Change Every student at Edge Hill University is automatically a member of the Students’ Union. We are here to primarily represent the interests of all Edge Hill students, our members. We give students a voice and promote positive change by

lobbying the University and local, regional and national bodies to ensure you have the best possible student experience whilst studying at Edge Hill. Each officer is assigned responsibility for specific areas of Union work and they work at the highest possible level within the University to bring about positive change for all students.

How we work…

The Students Union is run by a mixture of people.

The Board of Trustees is ultimately responsible for the governance of the Union in the eyes of the law. All four Sabbatical Officers sit on the Board of Trustees as well as three students who are appointed. There are also members of the public, external trustees, who also sit on this committee.

As well as the board we have a team of around 20 full time staff and over 50 part time staff who help to run the day to day operational functions.

Students’ Union Executive All four Sabbatical officers will be trustees of the Union and will ensure the priorities of the Union as decided by its members are carried out. All four will lobby the University to bring about positive change for all students through campaigning and through attending University and Union committee meetings.

The Students’ Union President is the prime representative of the Union to the University and is known as being the figure head of the Union. The President is also the Chair of the Board of Trustees. They will be the Unions official spokesperson when it comes to liaising with stake holders and the media locally and nationally. All three Vice Presidents have a primary responsibility to their area of work. They will all represent the views of their students to the university through campaigning and attending University meetings. The President and the Vice Presidents are the voice of the students at the University.

Alongside the four full time sabbatical officers we also have 7 part time officers who will also sit on the Students’ Union Executive Committee. The part time officers have responsibility for representing their specific student groups and will be encouraged to run campaigns and introduce policy into the SU to help improve the lives of the student groups they have been elected to represent. As well as helping the full time officers to run and develop campaigns, the part time

officers also expected to attend a minimum of 3 executive committee meetings per year.

So What Roles are Available

Part Time Officer There is one part time officer position (voluntary) available: 

International Students’ Officer

NUS Delegate Edge Hill Students’ Union has four spaces for students to attend the biggest student conference in the country ‘NUS Conference’.

NUS conference 2017 is 25th-27th April in Brighton, and you must be available to attend on these dates. Any student or current sabbatical officer is eligible to stand for these positions. For more information on the conference visit http://www.nusconnect.org.uk/events/national-conference

Student Representative’s Student Reps are essential to the development of your teaching and learning experience here at Edge Hill.

Every department should have at least one Student Rep per year.

Being a Student Rep will give you an opportunity to meet senior University staff and give them your honest opinion of how good, or bad, you feel your experiences, of your course, have been. Feeding back in this way can create change for the better and as a Student Rep you will be responsible for being the ‘voice’ for the rest of your peers, ensuring students viewpoints are listened to.

Most departments have 2 reps per year and you will be responsible for:  Representing the views of all other students in your year group across that department.  Sitting on Student Staff Consultative Forums (SSCF) and Programme Boards  Working closely with Faculty Reps to ensure any issues are being fed back to the Union in order to help shape our work and ensure we are lobbying for change in the correct areas.

Faculty Reps Faculty Representatives will sit above student reps, collect feedback from SSCF’s and Programme Boards and then attend their Faculty Board to represent students from their Faculty. You will also be given the opportunity to sit on University Boards that have responsibility improving learning and teaching and the student experience as a whole.

Responsibilities:  Attend Faculty board, 1 per term.  Regular meetings with VP Academic Representation.  Attend either Faculty based Learning and Teaching Committee, Quality Enhancement Committee or Student Experience Sub-Committee, 1 per term.  Attend “Food for thought” once a month (free food is provided).  Be invited to sit on new and existing course validation panels.  Attend Faculty Rep training.  Support the work of Student Representatives and foster communication among them, their departments and EHSU.

How to Stand Step 1: Complete the Self Nomination form on the EHSU website Step 2: Candidate Briefing (if applicable) Step 3: Campaigning Step 4: Voting

Nomination Form To stand in any of the elections you must first of all complete a nomination form. You can do this by logging into the EHSU website using your Edge Hill log in details. Once logged in you will see a drop down menu at the top right of the page. Here you need to select ‘My Account’. You will now see a menu on the left hand side of the page. Click on ‘My Nominations’ and you will now see all the positions that are eligible to stand for.

To complete a nomination, click on the position you are interested in standing for and complete the online form using the instructions provided on the page.

Once this is complete your nomination form will be sent to the Deputy Returning Officer for approval, once approved you will receive an email confirming this with more information about the upcoming election.

It is important you read this email in detail as you may be instructed to carry out further actions before the nomination period closes.

Manifesto As part of the nomination form you are asked to complete a short manifesto.

This should be no longer than 200 words and should include a little bit about yourself, what you would do if elected and why people should vote for you.

If you want any further information on writing a manifesto or putting together additional information please contact suelections@edgehill.ac.uk

Candidates Briefing This is an essential part of the Students’ Union election process. At this session you will get all the information regarding the rules of the election and further information on how voting will work. It is an ideal opportunity to ask questions and clear up anything you do not fully understand. As we understand that not all students may be able to attend at the specified times it is not compulsory for you to attend however if you are unable to make it you must let us know by emailing suelections@edgehill.ac.uk so we can arrange an alternative way to contact you with the information from this briefing.

Please note if you are running for a Student Rep or Faculty Rep position you do not have to attend candidates briefing.

Campaigning Campaigning can never be underestimated; this is how you will engage with the very people who will hopefully vote for you. 

Branch out from the Hub! Yes it’s a great building for campaigning but don’t spend all your time here. What about the students over in Waters

Edge in Education? Or the Faculty of Health Building? Sporting Edge?

Creative Edge etc. 

Compared to even 5-6 years ago, online campaigning has gone to a whole other level, and whilst it’s great, especially for those people on placement, don’t solely rely on this, make sure you actually speak to some people too!

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Posters WILL NOT and I shall repeat WILL NOT win you an election. They may remind people to vote for you, but that’s only going to happen if they’ve actually encountered you in the first place. Please don’t assume that by printing out 200 pictures of yourself and sticking those up over campus will win you an election as you’ll just be disappointed.

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Make yourself available, in person or virtually so publish an email address or facebook group that you can be contacted on should anyone want to ask you a question. Think twice before giving out any personal information though!

Campaigning Allowance Candidates in any elections are allowed to spend up to £20 of their own money to support their campaign. This money will not be reimbursed by the Students’ Union.

All expenditure must be accounted. Anything that has a cost must be accounted for; this means that if an item or activity at any time incurred a fee then that fee must be charged to the candidate’s campaign allowance.

All candidates will be expected to provide receipts for all purchases related to their campaign. Any candidate who fails to declare all expenditure and provide valid receipts may face sanctions up to and including disqualification from the election.

The Small Print…Rules and Regulations All of the rules and regulations are set out in this next section. This is our ‘Election Bye-Law’ so it is one of our legal documents with rules we must abide by as a Union. Anything you need to know about how the elections work will be in here.

1. The Returning Officer & Elections Committee 1.1 The Executive shall appoint a Returning Officer & Elections Committee on an annual basis.

1.2 The Returning Officer will be responsible for the conduct and administration of all elections. They shall have the sole right to interpret all elections regulations.

1.3 The Returning Officer may not be a member or employee of the Union or be a member of Edge Hill University staff, but they may appoint an Assistant Returning Officer, who will normally be a Union staff member and will carry out delegated duties on their behalf.

1.3.1 There will be an Elections Committee, who throughout the elections will in the first instance try to resolve any disputes, prior to submission to the Returning Officer.

1.3.2 The Elections Committee shall be made up of the Assistant Returning Officer, a full time officer, of the Union who will chair the meetings and 4 Students. The student representatives will be selected from student trustees and part time officers of the Union. In the case where all full time officers are candidates in the election, a Chair will be elected from the student representatives.

1.3.3 The Elections Committee will meet regularly throughout the elections.

1.3.4 Members of the Elections Committee shall sign a declaration stating their independence from the Election.

1.3.5 Receipt of a nomination form from a member of Elections Committee shall be deemed a resignation.

1.4 The ruling of the Returning Officer will be final.

2. When Elections Should Happen 2.1 The Returning Officer shall ensure that the election of all Union Officers and Representatives takes place before the end of the spring term.

2.2 Within twenty (20) academic days of voting beginning, a copy of the election timetable and election byelaw will be made available to the Union membership.

2.3 Once elected, members shall commence their term in office from the 1st July and this shall expire on the 30th June the following year. Flexibility of the start date due to a student's course of study will be dealt with on a case by case basis.

2.4 The delegation for NUS conference will be elected each year, before the month of April, for attendance at NUS Conference in that year.

3. Sabbatical Officers 3.1 All elected positions are open to any student of Edge Hill University who is a full member of the Union, subject to Section 10.1 of this bye - law.

3.2 Should a position not be filled during the elections, a bye-election will be held in accordance with point 3.1 and the elections bye-law.

4. Liberation and Sections Officers 4.1 To stand for election to represent a certain liberation group or section group, the candidate must in the case of liberation group’s self-define as part of that group or in the case of section groups be registered with the University as a student who falls within that section.

4.2 Should a liberations officer or sections officer position not be filled during the elections, a bye election will be held in accordance with point and the elections bye-law 4.3 Voting for all liberation and sections positions will be cross campus with the exception of Women's Officer which will only be made available to students who have registered as female with the University.

5. How to Become a Candidate 5.1 To become a candidate, the student must be a full member or the Union and have submitted the nomination form before the close of nominations.

5.2 Candidates at the time of or post nomination are able to submit a manifesto, the manifesto must comply with the Union's Equality and Diversity policy.

5.3 Nominations for full time sabbatical positions will be open for a minimum of two (2) academic weeks.

5.4 Nominations for positions other than that of Sabbatical officers must be open for a minimum of 48 hours and will be set at the recommendation of the Returning Officer/ Assistant Returning Officer 5.5 Nominations will not be accepted from two or more members of the Union seeking election jointly for a single post.

6. Campaigning and Publicity 6.1 A maximum amount will be set for each election which will outline the amount that candidates may spend on their own resources. This amount will be set by the Returning Officer/ Assistant Returning Officer and be communicated at the start of each election. All resources will have a cost price determined by the Returning Officer or their Assistant.

6.2 Candidates may not obstruct, deface or tamper with any other candidate's campaign material.

6.3 Candidates or members or their Campaign Team may not actively campaign in the following areas: 6.3.1 Edge Hill Students' Union Offices 6.3.2 Edge Hill University Library 6.3.3 The Learning Innovation Centre (LINC building) 6.3.4 Any dedicated IT suite on campus 6.4 Candidates must respect any University regulations on the positioning of posters or any other campaign material.

6.5 Any aggressive, offensive or malicious behaviour from candidates should be reported to the Returning Officer or their assistant as a complaint which will be dealt with accordingly.

6.6 Current Union elected officers must not campaign whilst actively engaged on Union business and current Sabbatical officers must book annual leave from their duties through the usual channels to campaign on their, or someone else's behalf.

6.7 Where a candidate has access to a singular opportunity or significant competitive advantage due to a personal relationship or circumstance which could be used as a campaign aid, they must either declare a cost at a level agreed with the Assistant Returning Officer or offer the opportunity to any rival candidate contesting the same position.

6.8 Any candidate found to be in breach of any of the above rules may, at the discretion of the Returning Officer, be disqualified from the elections.

7. How Students get to Vote 7.1 The Returning Officer or their assistant shall publicise a list of candidates' manifestos (where submitted), no later than two (2) academic days after the close of nominations where voting is open for 4 academic days or more. For voting periods of less than 4 academic days then manifestos (where submitted) and a list of candidates shall be publicised within 24 hours of nominations closing.

7.2 Students vote using an online system. All full members of the Union will log into the Union website (using University credentials) and vote.

7.3 Before being able to cast a vote online, voters shall see candidates’ names and manifestos (where submitted).

7.4 Re-Open Nominations (RON) shall be a candidate in all Union elections.

7.5 Voting will be by secret ballot and conducted in accordance with the rules for the operation of the alternative voting (AV) systems as defined by the Electoral Reform Society.

7.6 A contingency plan will be in place should there be any fault with the online system.

8. Declaration of Results 8.1 The Returning Officer shall inform the candidates when the election results will be announced and how candidates or their agents may scrutinise those results.

8.2 A list of successful candidates will normally be posted on the Union website within one working day following the declaration of results.

8.3 The results will be confirmed as final after one working day has passed providing no complaints about the count have been lodged with the Returning Officer. In the event of a complaint being received, the results shall remain provisional until the complaint has been resolved.

8.4 The Returning Officer should send a written copy of the result to the Union President, the University Vice Chancellor, Chair of the University Board of Governors and the Students' Union Board of Trustees.

8.5 Once the result of any election has been declared any digital records of the election should be retained by the Union or its agents for a period of six (6) months and shall remain confidential unless required by the Returning Officer and/or the University exercising their responsibilities under the 1994 Education Act. 9. Complaints 9.1 Any complaint concerning the good conduct of a candidate or the administration of the election should be received in writing and be referred to the Elections Committee and the Returning Officer before the close of the ballot. The Elections Committee will try to resolve all complaints, prior to submission to the Returning Officer.

9.2 Any complaint concerning the vote count of the election should be received in writing by the Returning Officer with in twenty four (24) hours of the results being read.

9.3 Any challenge or complaint concerning the good conduct of a candidate, administration of the election or concern of the vote count will be heard and determined by the Returning Officer within two (2) academic days of such a complaint being lodged by any full member or the candidate or their nominee.

9.4 In determining a resolution to the complaint, the Assistant Returning Officer, shall refer in the first instance to the decision of the Elections Committee. If the complaint cannot be resolved through the Elections Committee it shall be referred to the Returning Officer who, after hearing all appropriate evidence may: not uphold the complaint; halt elections for specified positions, disqualify a specified candidate (s) who, in their view, has breached election regulations or guidelines set out by the Returning Officer.

9.5 The ruling of the Returning Officer on any complaint shall be final.

10. Bye-Elections 10.1 If any Union position falls vacant, the Chair of the Board of Trustees in consultation with the CEO of the Union shall determine when a bye-election shall be called.

10.2 There shall be no more than two (2) bye-elections held in any academic year.

10.3 Bye-elections shall comply with this election bye-law with the exception of the following: 10.3.1 Within fifteen (15) academic days of voting beginning, a copy of the election timetable and election bye-law must be made available to the Union membership.

10.3.2 Once elected, members shall commence their term in office from the declaration of results (assuming no complaints are made) until the 30th June that academic year.

10.4 Nominations for Sabbatical positions will be open for a minimum of one (1) academic week. Nominations for positions other than that of Sabbatical officers must be open for a minimum of 48 hours and will be set at the recommendation of the Returning Officer/ Assistant Returning Office

Anything else you need to know…

What is a ‘Returning Officer’?

The Returning Officer (RO) is an external person appointed by Edge Hill Students’ Union to oversee the elections process and ensure they are conducted in a fair and democratic manner. They will make decisions on how the elections will run and will make any judgements on complaints if and when necessary. Our RO is based at NUS and can be contacted at Telephone: 0845 521 0262 Email: enquiries@nus.org.uk The Returning Officer has appointed a Deputy Returning Officers to act as a first point of contact for all election enquiries.

The DROs for this year’s elections are Cleve Rushton & Lauren Beckett – suelections@edgehill.ac.uk - 01695 657301 Make Sure you Read the Rules These aren’t something we wrote because we were bored, they are part of the Students’ Union governance procedures and failure to stick to these could see you disqualified from the elections. They’re actually easy rules to follow, but we won’t take ignorance as an excuse.

If in Doubt Ask It’s better to take a minute to ask rather than unknowingly break a rule!

Use Common Sense when Putting up Posters If you’re in doubt as to if you can put a poster up in a building, just ask. But as a general rule, don’t put them over display boards or on glass doors which will obscure people’s views, don’t blu tac them on painted walls and see below for info about the bar. If you choose to ignore this advice, you’ll find your posters will just be taken down by the University.

Don’t use stickers!! We’ve agreed with the University that this won’t happen as they create a real mess and it would be a shame to spoil such a beautiful campus.

Don’t use chalk/paint on surfaces where the removal of the chalk/paint would cause damage to University or Students’ Union property. If you are unsure, ask!

Be aware of the campaigning rules in the SU Bar & Quad 

No physical promotional material what so ever is to be put in there, including posters, flyers, stickers etc. You can go in wearing campaign t-shirts and speak to students, but that’s it.

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If people are eating in there, leave them be, speak to them when they’re done.

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The SU Bar and Quad reserve the right to withdraw the opportunity to campaign in there at any time.