Friday 26-02-2021 - 10:26

As of Friday 26 February at 12pm, nominations in the EHSU Elections are closed.

 

So, what does this mean?

 

It means that all candidates running in each of our available positions have submitted their self-nominations and, once they have been fully confirmed as candidates, will be able to start campaigning for your votes towards the end of next week.

 

Obviously, within the above information there are going to be some important questions.

 

With that in mind, this blog post will cover some of the most important pieces of information you need to bear in mind if you’re looking to engage in the elections over the next two weeks.

 

 

When does voting open?

 

Like last year, the election will take place over one day.

 

This year, the election is set to take place on Tuesday 16 March, with voting opening at 7am and closing at 10pm.

 

All current Edge Hill students are eligible to vote for all available positions and as long as you get your vote in before 10pm using our online elections web-app, your vote will be counted!

 

 

When will the candidates be revealed?

 

The final list of confirmed candidates for our elections will be revealed on our website on Monday 01 March.

 

Here, you will be able to see their names, manifestos, and what positions they are running for.

 

We will also be running media days with our candidates to introduce them to the wider student body, so keep an eye on our social media between now and election day on Tuesday 16 March to find out more about your future student officers.

 

 

When can the candidates start campaigning?

 

After we announce who the candidates are on Monday 1 March, there’s a few final meetings they need to attend to ensure they fully understand the elections process and the roles they are running for.

 

After all these have taken place, candidates will be free to start campaigning from Thursday 04 March.

 

So if there’s a candidate you want to support, you can get behind their campaign once it has launched!

 

 

EHSU Communications Embargo

 

Every year, Edge Hill Students’ Union sets a date from which it will reduce the number of posts that feature candidates running in the election. This is to ensure, for example, current officers do not leverage their positions to secure election promotion in order to achieve re-election.

 

The embargo, of course, does not apply to elections-specific communications which seek to inform Edge Hill students about the candidates running.

 

For the 20-21 election, the EHSU Communications Embargo will be in place from 9am Thursday 04 March as this is the date candidates are allowed to officially start their elections campaigning.

 

 

What about RON (Re-open Nominations)?

 

Following the advice of the National Union of Students in the NUS Election Report 2020, RON (Re-Open Nominations) has been removed as a default option from our elections.

 

If, however, a student would like a RON option to be in place for a certain standing, they must come forward as the official representative for the RON campaign before Wednesday 03 March at 9am.

 

To begin this process, you should email suelections@edgehill.ac.uk with the subject line: ‘RON Representative.’

 

As per NUS’ guidelines, this is to ensure all RON campaigns are run according to election by-laws and, like any other candidate running in an election, that there is an individual accountable for the actions of the RON campaign as a whole.

Students interested in running a RON campaign in a specific standing need to keep in mind the following:

 

• You can only become the representative for a RON campaign for a position you would otherwise be eligible for as a candidate. Therefore, if you want a RON option for the Student Engagement Officer in Faculty of Arts and Science, you must be a current student within that faculty.
   
• As with all candidates, RON representatives will be required to undertake our fit and proper candidate process and to attend candidate briefings.
   
• If you come forward as a RON representative, as with all election candidates, you will become responsible for all campaigns, promotional materials, and behaviours associated with the RON campaign in that standing. This means any campaign material or individual campaigner’s actions that break the election by-laws or, for example, the Union’s equality and diversity policies, will be personally attributed to you as the RON representative. Representatives must understand that, as with all candidates and their campaign teams, such breaches may result in both disqualification from the election and further disciplinary action for severe breaches of Union and University policies.