Elections handbook 2017

7 1 0 2LECTIONS

E k o o b d han

Union… Lead Your Out, Shape Your University

Stand Up, Speak

important Contacts Assistant Returning Officer

Assistant Returning Officer

Lauren Beckett

Cleve Rushton

01695 657301 beckettl@edgehill.ac.uk

01695 657301 cleve.rushton@edgehill.ac.uk

IMPORTANT Dates Nominations Open:

Nominations Close:

FRIDAY 27th January

THURSDAY 16th March at 12 noon

Candidate Briefing: THURSDAY 16th March at 3pm & 5.30pm

Voting:

Tuesday 21ST March 9am til Friday 24th March 4pm

Candidates Question Time WEDNESday 22ND March 7pm – 9pm

THE RESULTS

Friday 24th March AT 7.30pm

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E TH

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.

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

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how to stand step 1

Complete the Self Nomination form on the EHSU website

ELECTIONS briefing

step 3

step 2

campaigning

voting 5

step 4

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 you 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.

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.

You can stand for election without providing a manifesto. If you would prefer not to submit anything here then you can simply write N/A in the box and submit your nomination without this.

O T S E F MANI

In addition to this short statement all candidates are able to submit additional information about themselves, this could be done in the form of a poster, video or anything else that you can think of.

If you would like something extra to be added to your manifesto section then you just need to let us know and we can help you with this.

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ELECTIONS 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.

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? If you spend all your time in one building its highly likely you’ll just talk to the same students over and over again!

• 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!

• Posters WILL NOT, 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.

• 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!

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Campaigning

allowance

Candidates who are running for Full Time Officer or Part Time Officer Positions and those candidates who stand for the position of Student Governor are permitted to spend up to £50 of their own money to support their campaign.

• This money will not be reimbursed by the Students’ Union.

Candidates running for positions not stipulated above are entitled to spend up to £25 of their own money to support their campaign.

• This money will not be reimbursed by the Student’ Union.

All expenditure must be accounted for. 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.

Candidates Question T ime Candidates Question Time is a hustings style event. This will give students the opportunity to ask questions of all the candidates in order to advise them before they vote.

The event will be broken down into positions with every candidate being given a timed slot to outline why they are the best person for the job. This will be followed by questions from the floor with candidates being given the chance to answer these in their own way with the hope of convincing the student body that they deserve their vote over everyone else.

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workshops This year we are running a series of workshops which have been designed to help you as much as possible in preparing for the election and your role if successful.

Standing for election is a big decision to make and we feel it only fair that people understand exactly what each role entails so you can be sure you make the right decision.

The workshops we have put together will aim to give you an insight into the Students’ Union in general, what each role does and what your responsibilities would be, how to run an effective campaign and also what it means to design and lead a campaign in order to create positive change.

If you are thinking of standing for election it is likely that you think of yourself as an activist, someone who wants to make changes and challenge things that negatively impact on students so these workshops are there to develop these skills and enhance your knowledge so you can be sure you are as prepared as possible, at least for the next few weeks and possibly for the next 12 months following that!!

These workshops are not compulsory but we would advise you attend as many as possible, they are going to be your best opportunity to get inside/ detailed information into the workings of the SU and the role you are standing for.

Details of all the workshops can be found on the elections website www.edgehillsu.org.uk/elections

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RULES & 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.

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RULES & REGULATIONS

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 bye-law 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 byeelection 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.

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RULES & REGULATIONS 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.

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RULES & REGULATIONS 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.

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RULES & REGULATIONS 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

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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 For initial enquiries relating to the election you should contact the Assistant Returning Officer, whose details can be found at the start of this handbook.

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 use sellotape on painted walls!

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.

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