Bristol SU runs elections to give students the opportunity to vote for who they want to see representing them in the university, SU, the city and nationally.

There are two sets of elections each year, one in September/October and one in February/March. Term One Elections include roles for new students, alongside a selection of vacant positions open to all students - this term these include two Student Community Organiser roles and one Democratic Standards Committee member.

Stepping into a student leader role is your chance to make a real impact on campus while gaining valuable experience that’ll stand out on your CV. From communication and public speaking to leadership, project management, and strategic planning, these roles help you develop skills for life. This is all while creating positive change in your student community.

We provide lots of training and support for all roles and there are a range of different roles to suit lots of different ambitions, personalities and expectations.

In term one, you can run for your course and faculty rep roles, as well as Democratic Standards Committee and Student Community Organiser! We’ve introduced payments for some of our part-time roles, including Faculty Reps and Student Community Organisers. 

Staff at Bristol SU run the day-to-day organisation of elections. All Bristol SU elections are then overseen by a Returning Officer (a staff member or external expert) who makes sure that they are fair, transparent and successful. Our Returning Officer is the National Union of Students’ (NUS), and you can email us at any time to ask the Returning Officer a question, voice a concern or report an unfair situation.

A personal statement is an essential part of your nomination and it’s your chance to show voters who you are, why you’re the best person for the role, and what you stand for. Don’t forget to include a clear headshot too, so people can easily recognise you!

Your personal statement might vary depending on the role you’re running for:

• Course Reps: This term, putting yourself forward is simple. There's no personal statement to write and no campaigning required. If your position isn't contested, you'll become a Course Rep automatically.
• Faculty Reps: Think big and highlight how you can represent your cohort on a faculty level for this paid role.
• Student Community Organisers: Showcase your ability to connect, listen, and empower others.
• Democratic Standards Committee: Demonstrate your understanding of democracy at the SU and your plans to make sure the Union’s democracy is open, transparent, and adheres to the letter and spirit of the Byelaws.

The personal statement word limit is 300 words, so you need to make sure it is succinct and captures what you want to say to voters!

Running for a role in the elections is a great way to develop new skills and meet people!

Over the years, plenty of international students have stood in, and won, elections. However, it is your responsibility to check if you are eligible to work and volunteer the hours required as per your visa. If you require more details about your rights or what action to take, please contact the University of Bristol International Student Office.

When you nominate yourself in an election your nomination will first appear as 'unapproved'. A member of Bristol SU staff will then check your eligibility to stand in that election and approve your nomination. Once approved you’ll get an email with your next steps, or you will hear from us if there are any issues with the approval process. Once approved and the nomination deadline has passed, that is when candidate personal statements are checked.

If you see a message that says you're ineligible to stand or vote for a particular position, please contact us as soon as possible.

It's possible that you may not meet the requirements for that position or there may be a technical error. Please include your full name, University username and the specific position you would like to stand/vote for in your email.

Sometimes - it depends on the positions. You can find out more about what roles you can and can’t apply for here.

We have lots of roles, so it can get quite confusing - if you are unsure, please email us.

Yes, the rules can be found on the Elections Rules page - please read through them carefully. If you have any questions or would like a clarification, please ask the Returning Officer.

In the context of elections, campaigning is what candidates do to get votes. For our course role, this tends to be more low key – we recommend chatting to people on your course to let them know you’re running. Course Rep candidates should not spend money on their campaign.

Faculty Rep, Student Community Organisers, Chair of Student Council and Student Trustee candidates can be reimbursed for up to £30 for their campaigning. We recommend utilising social media and putting yourself out there in places your voters might be.

Full-time Officer candidates can spend up to £65 on their campaign. Because these roles are for a full-time job and every student can vote, the campaign tends to be on a bigger scale. The SU will provide paint, cardboard, fabric, as well as space to work on physical campaign materials. We’ve also got a candidate academy session on campaigning for more tips – you can find the details here!

Successful candidates take time to listen and speak to students, find out about the current issues relevant to the role they're standing for and persuade voters with ideas and enthusiasm. All campaigning activity needs to follow, our rules and authorised campaign expenditure will be reimbursed by Bristol SU.

If you have any questions, please email us.

Bristol SU uses Single Transferable Vote (STV), a representation system in which a person’s vote can be transferred to a second or third choice (according to their stated preference) if their first choice is eliminated during the vote count. That means that all your rankings count when you vote!

If you want to understand more, take a look at this YouTube video explaining how another SU used STV. The most important aspect of STV is that a voter ranks candidates in order of their preference so if you speak to a student who has already decided not to vote for you, convince them to make you their second choice – it could make all the difference when determining the result.

RON stands for Re-Open Nominations. All Bristol SU elections give the option for voters to express that they think the nominations for a role should be re-opened. If R.O.N wins the election, we will do another call out for candidates and re-run the voting period.

Voting for this option is usually taken when voters do not feel as though any of the candidates offer viable or credible policies.