Elections are run each year by Students' Unions (SUs) across the country. They are the process by which new student representatives are elected to help lead the organisation across the next academic year. 

SUs are democratically led organisations and all students automatically become members of their SU when they join university. The easiest and fairest way for all students to have the opportunity to choose who is going to help lead the SU is by a cross-campus vote. 

Any student can choose to put themselves forward for an elected role, as long as they meet the relevant eligibility criteria for each role. For example, some of our part-time officer positions are specific to different sites and you need to be a student studying at that site in order to nominate yourself as a candidate. 
 

Roles available 

There are part-time and full-time paid positions available in the election. Read our elections announcement article to see a breakdown of each of the roles. You can also visit our roles page to see each of the individual role descriptions, with detailed eligibility criteria for each role. 
 

How the vote works 

Students can vote for the candidates they want to represent them during a 48hr voting period from midday on Tuesday 11 February to midday on Thursday 13 February. Votes are typically cast online through our website but we will have voting stalls in different university buildings for those who prefer to vote in person. 

We want every vote to make as much impact as possible, so we use what's called a transferable voting system. When voting, students are asked to rank candidates in order of preference on the ballot and can select as many preferences as they like. For example: 

If there were five candidates running for the role of Education Officer: 

Candidate Number 1 – Ruth Morgan 

Candidate Number 2 – Barry Hill 

Candidate Number 3 – Oluwafemi Abadogi 

Candidate Number 4 – Muhammed Satah 

Candidate Number 5 – Susie Smith 

Candidate Number 6 – Re-open nominations (RON) 
  

A student may choose three preferences: 

Number 1 choice for Education Officer – Sam Jones 

Number 2 choice for Education Officer – Ruth Morgan 

Number 3 choice for Education Officer – Susie Smith 
 

What does RON stand for? 

For each position, you will see all of the candidates who are running for the role. You will also always see RON (which stands for re-open nominations). 

Students can choose to select RON as one of their preferences if they believe that candidates are not suitable for the position. If RON was to win as a candidate in an election, the position would need to go back out for another election or someone would need to be co-opted into the role. 

How can I get involved? 

There are a few ways you can get involved with the election!

The first is to put yourself forward for a role. Nominations will open on Friday 10 January at 12 midday and close on Tuesday 28 January at 5pm. You will need to submit a photo and manifesto as part of your nomination, which outlines 5 key things you would aim to achieve in the role. If you would like support with preparing a manifesto, come along to one of our workshops. 

Before nominations open, you can join our interested lists! You will receive useful and important information about the election, as well as a reminder when nominations open. 

If you're not interested in a role yourself, you can still get involved with the process by casting your vote in February. It's so important to have your voice heard and vote for who best represents you. 

If you have any questions at all, you can email: elections.su@coventry.ac.uk