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⏰ Voting in the Student Leader Elections closes in...

Elections Rules & Complaints

Chester Students’ Union (CSU) Elections aim to be free, fair, and accessible to every UoC student. It is the responsibility of Chester Students’ Union to ensure the smooth running of the elections. This page outlines the rules, guidelines, and processes to make that happen.

The Election Rules are held and owned by the Chester Students’ Union Team and may be reviewed in refl ection of changing circumstances throughout the election.

The rules will be communicated to every candidate at every election candidate briefing and made available via the website and Teams channel, and can be discussed further with the Chester Students’ Union Team on individual request. For more information, contact csuelections@chester.ac.uk.

The Deputy Returning Officer is Holly Robinson-Crane (Democracy & Campaigns Coordinator at CSU), and the Returning Officer is Peter Robertson from the National Union of Students (NUS).

Eligibility

There are certain criteria which members must fulfil to be eligible to run or vote in Chester Students’ Union Student Leader Elections.

Nominating

To run for a CSU Student Council (part-time) position, candidates must:

  • Be a full member of Chester Students’ Union.
  • Be a full registered student.
  • Be aware of the duties and responsibilities attached to the roles.
  • Have full student status for the next Academic Year

To run for a Full-time Officer position, candidates must:

  • Be a full member of Chester Students’ Union.
  • Have been a full registered student at the University of Chester for a continuous period of at least 3 months immediately before nominating closes.
  • Be aware that Full-time Officers will have to interrupt their studies for their term in office if they have not completed their degree study by 1st July.
  • Be aware of the duties and responsibilities attached to these roles.

Voting

To vote in the CSU Spring Elections, students must:

  • Have full student status at the time of voting.
  • Be a full member of Chester Students’ Union at the time of voting.

Candidate Rules

Candidates must:

  • Abide by current Chester Students’ Union policy, Values, UoC Regulations and Policies, UoC Student Code of Conduct, and the Law.
  • Be responsible for the conduct of their campaign team during the Election process.
  • Attend either the candidate briefi ng, or a 1-to-1 with the DRO prior to campaigning.
  • Not undertake campaigns activity using role privileged information (e.g., Student Groups Mailing List, etc) This list is not exhaustive, and any other identified role privileged information is at the discretion of Chester Students’ Union.
  • Re-running Officers will limit their current work to non-student-facing during campaigning, and will not have access to CSU resources that other candidates do not also have access to.
  • Not infringe a students’ right to vote confidentially and freely, or influence students while they are voting.
  • Not touch any other students’ electrical devices.
  • Not use their own electrical devices to obtain votes from others; this is strictly prohibited.
  • Not remove, alter or move another candidates’ campaign material.
  • Not exceed the cap on spending set by the Deputy Returning Officer, whether claimed or unclaimed. All expenses must be declared.
  • Not swap incentives for votes. Candidates may offer freebies as part of their campaign, but this may not be given in exchange for a vote.
  • Only nominate themselves for one role per election.

Further Guidance:

  • Please remain respectful of others while campaigning. This includes not ‘spamming’ students on social media, and not directly messaging students without prior permission/consent.
  • Please use the Chester Students’ Union logo on campaign materials. Do not use the University of Chester logo on any campaign material (including social media).
  • Candidates must not campaign in lectures/seminars/Teams channels/Moodle spaces without prior permission from the lecturer and it must not cause disruption to teaching activity or physical or online learning spaces.
  • The Deputy Returning Officer shall set a maximum campaign budget of £20 for each part-time Officer candidate and £30 for each full-time Officer candidate prior to the opening of nominations. Candidates must not exceed the budget limit, even if they do not claim the expenses. All expenses must be declared, including donations. 
  • Candidates must submit a campaign spending return within one hour of the close of voting to csuelections@chester.ac.uk, detailing all expenditure and providing evidence (receipts). If no spend has occurred, this also needs to be communicated by the same deadline. Missing this deadline means they cannot claim any expenses back.
  • Candidates should use a separate, blank campaigning account on social media/messenger apps, and not use their personal or professional accounts.
  • If candidates are members of societies or sports groups, they must remove themselves from the room or call while the group deliberates whether they would like to endorse and/or support the candidate in the election.

Additional Rules:

  • Chester Students Union and University staff must remain apolitical in all CSU Elections.
  • Student Staff and Offi cers, whilst in working hours, wearing staff uniform (including CSU branded lanyards) or using platforms provided to them as part of their role, cannot campaign for themselves or others.
  • Rerunning Officers should limit or avoid student-facing activities once candidates have been announced.

Complaints

Chester Students’ Union will strive to deal with complaints informally in the fi rst instance. All complaints must be emailed to csuelections@chester.ac.uk for the attention of the Deputy Returning Officer.

Any complaint regarding a candidate’s conduct must be submitted to csuelections@chester.ac.uk as soon as practicably possible after the alleged incident. The complaint deadline is one hour after the election vote closes.

Any complaints must include:

  • The complainant’s name.
  • Any affi liation you have to any campaign in the election.
  • The name of the candidate against whom the complaint is being made.
  • The election rule that has been breached.
  • Evidence relating to the alleged breach. Complaints without evidence will not be considered.
  • What action you believe the Returning Officer should take.

The Returning Officer and Deputy Returning Officer will decide on the penalty (if any) of any candidate complaint. This can range from a verbal warning to disqualifi cation from the election. The Returning Officer is responsible for the final interpretation of these rules and the final decision.