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Election Rules

Deputy Returning Officer (DRO) - Scott Farmer, Interim CEO, Chester Students' Union.

Returning Officer – Peter Robertson, NUS Charity Director, NUS

Important Information

All candidates and their campaign teams are expected to abide by:

  • CSU policy
  • University of Chester rules and Codes of Conduct
  • The Law

Failure to adhere to these may result in disciplinary action.

Campaigning Rules

1. Campaigning begins on the date specified by the Deputy Returning Officer (Monday 4th March, 9am), and only once the relevant members have been briefed on campaign rules as outlined in 1.1.

1.1. A candidate briefing must be held following the close of nominations at a time specified by the Deputy Returning Officer. At this meeting, the Deputy Returning Officer or another representative will provide a campaign rules briefing and other relevant guidelines for those involved.

2. Campaigners are accountable for their supporters' actions, and must take reasonable steps to ensure that their supporters' actions comply with the campaign rules at all times. Campaigners must be able to demonstrate this in the event of a complaint against them.

3. Candidates may only alter, move or remove their own campaign materials.

4. Campaigners may only use mailing lists where lawful to do so, taking into account relevant legislation. In most cases, this will require the consent of the members on the list to use their details for campaigning purposes.

5. Campaigners must not prevent free and easy access to and within Students’ Union and University premises during campaigning.

6. Campaigners may hand out promotional material to prospective voters with a maximum value of 50 pence per individual. This is to ensure there is no suggestion impropriety in obtaining votes.

7. The Deputy Returning Officer shall set a maximum campaign budget for each candidate prior to the opening of nominations (£30). Candidates must not exceed the budget limit. Any expense reports not provided by the deadline may result in disqualification.

8. Candidates must submit a campaign spending return within one hour of the close of voting (submit by Thursday 14th March at 6pm), detailing all expenditure and providing evidence (receipts).

9. Failure to provide details of campaign expenditure will result in action against the candidate from the Returning Officer.

10. The Union will only reimburse candidates for any pre-agreed elections expenditure on receipt of a campaign spending return and relevant evidence submitted prior to the close of voting.

11. Any items provided by the Union to candidates at no cost, or that are generally freely available to all candidates shall not be counted in any expenditure and be deemed as ‘free.’

12. Items or services received by candidates through personal relationships that would normally incur a cost and that would not be available to all other candidates must be accounted for, in consultation with the Deputy Returning Officer.

13. Any breach of any University, building, or local authority rules or regulations committed in the course of campaigning shall also be deemed as a breach of election regulations and may result in action by the Returning Officer in addition to any action from relevant authorities.

14. All candidates shall be deemed responsible for the actions of those campaigning on their behalf, where they can be considered to have had a reasonable ability to control the actions of said individuals.

15. Candidates or their campaigners may provide members with a voting platform (where online voting is being used), but must not intimidate or force a member to vote for them, ensuring their vote is secret.

Further Elections rules

16. Please use the Chester Students' Union logo on all of your campaign materials. Please do not use the University of Chester logo on any campaign materials (including on social media).

17. You must provide the name of a campaign agent, who will be able to act on behalf of your campaign in your absence.

18. Absolutely no negative campaigning or defamation of character amongst or regarding candidates is allowed. Complaints regarding negative campaigning or defamation of character will be taken extremely seriously.

19. Any complaints without primary evidence will be treated as hearsay. If there are repeated complaints without evidence against a specific candidate, the complainants themselves may be sanctioned.

Complaints

Please note that any elections complaints must be submitted before 6pm on Thursday 14th March, or they will not be considered. A member misconduct complaint can be made at any time. All complaints will be reviewed by the Deputy Returning Officer, Scott Farmer. Appeals will be reviewed by the Returning Officer from the NUS.

If you believe a rule has been broken, you will need to follow these steps: Email csuelections@chester.ac.uk with the subject line 'Elections Complaint', making sure to include the following in your email:

1. Your name.

2. Any affiliation you have to any campaign in the election.

3. The name of the candidate against whom the complaint is being made.

4. The election rule that has been breached.

5. Primary evidence relating to the alleged breach. Complaints without evidence will not be considered.

6. What action you believe the Returning Officer should take.

The DRO will ensure that any sanctions given are proportionate and fair to everybody running in the election.

Breach of Elections Rules

The Elections Committee will use these rules as a guideline in the case of enquiries and complaints and will come to a decision.

Any breach of the rules may be punished. Sanctions could include but not limited to:

  • An informal warning - verbally or in writing
  • A formal warning, which may or may not be made public
  • A ban on campaigning for a defined period
  • Total disqualification from running in the Election

Decisions made by the elections committee are not subject to appeal.

In the case of total disqualification, the Returning Officer’s decision will be final