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Election Rules

Last update: 10 January 2025

The success of the 2025 SU elections is down to you, the candidates. Your ability to successfully promote yourself, engage students with your ideas and convince them to vote is key. The ideal election is exciting, good-natured and leads to a high turnout at the polls of well-informed, engaged voters.  These rules are designed to make this possible, and are based on two overarching principles:   

  • The elections process must be fair and properly conducted 

  • The success of the elections is based on the participation of candidates and accessibility of the process for voters 

While we have specific rules for elections, the rules that apply all year round still apply during an election period too. These include: 

  • SU Rules: Candidates must abide by Bristol SU’s Member Code of Conduct. If broken, candidates are subject to Bristol SU’s Member Disciplinary Policy & Procedure, which can revoke SU membership and thus disqualify them from the election. 

  • University Rules and regulations: The University has rules relating to the student community, their behaviour and use of facilities and property. If broken candidates may be subject to the University’s disciplinary procedure, which may put their candidacy and student status in jeopardy. 

  • The Law: If candidates break the law, the Returning Officer reserves the right to refer the matter to the appropriate authorities. 

 

SU Elections Rules 2025

  1. Do not do anything that another candidate cannot do.   

  1. Treat all other students and staff with respect. Discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated.  

  1. Candidates will be held responsible for the conduct and management of their own campaign and campaign team (if they have one). 

  1. Do not spend more than the budget allocated to the role you are standing for. 

  1. Do not campaign before the campaigning period (09:00, Monday 10 March). 

  1. You cannot pool your resources with another candidate, and you cannot campaign in a slate (where two or more candidates' campaign collaboratively on a joint platform.) Candidates cannot endorse any other candidate.  

  2. Any information about candidates not adhering to the rules must be submitted through the Election Complaints Form to the Deputy Returning Officer before the close of voting (21:00, Thursday 13 March). 
     

Campaigning & Voting 
 

  1. To help publicise voting times, all campaign material (graphics, videos etc.) must contain the following information about how and when students can vote: 

Vote at bristolsu.org.uk/elections  

09:00 Monday 10 March – 21:00 Thursday 13 March 

  1. Campaign materials must only promote a single candidate’s candidacy. 

  1. Lists, databases or networks created to inform a group about specific activities cannot be used to publicise your campaign. You are allowed to create new lists or databases for the purposes of the election. 

  1. Affiliated Student groups (student media, see rule 15) can choose to get involved in the election. If they allow 1 candidate to post, they need to allow all candidates for that particular role to post.  

  2. Candidates are free to post in online groups (including group chats) that are plausibly open for other candidates to post in. Affiliated student groups are free to refuse posting access to candidates. 

  3. Student groups; societies and sport clubs may endorse a candidate if they follow these steps: 

    1. They must not endorse until they can read all candidate manifestos. This means they can begin the endorsement process when candidates are announced on Friday 7 March, but they must not post or talk about their endorsement until the campaign period has begun at 09:00 on Monday 10 March. 

    2. They must hold a Student Group Committee meeting, or a forum of their membership if specified in their group constitution, to discuss if they wish to endorse candidates. 

    3. They must inform the Elections Team by email at bristolsu-elections@bristol.ac.uk and wait for a confirmation email before announcing their endorsement and the voting numbers for the endorsement. Votes must be quorate, by the standards set out in the group’s constitution. The candidate they have endorsed cannot do this; it must come from the student group committee.  

  4. Bristol SU Networks cannot endorse candidates but Network Chairs (and their voluntary committee), Faculty Reps, Chair of Council can endorse candidates in a personal capacity. Members of Democratic Standards Committee cannot endorse candidates in any capacity. 

  5. Student media must provide equal coverage to all candidates within any role they choose to cover using whichever medium they operate. This includes any sub-groups within affiliated student groups – affiliated student groups will be responsible for upholding this rule across their presenters, reporters and contributors. 

  6. A candidate’s identity must be obvious when they campaign online (e.g. candidates must post as their personal social media account or one specifically set up for their campaign and not as another page to which they have access). 

  1. Candidates must not harass potential voters, check who they are voting for or record votes. Candidates must be standing at least 2 meters away from a student who is actively voting and not touch any voter’s voting device or vote on their behalf. 

  1. Campaign material must foster positive democratic debate and must not make defamatory comments towards other individuals including but not limited to libel, slander or make false or misleading claims. 

  1. Campaigners must not use Bristol SU resources to develop or publicise their campaigns, with the exception of spending money as set out in election rule 29 and provided campaign materials. This includes no usage of either the University and/or Students’ Union logo.  

  1. Anyone who is campaigning on your behalf is on your campaign team and will be considered so for the entirety of the election. Campaign teams that include current officers (Appendix 2) and elected representatives (e.g. society presidents) are not allowed to use Bristol SU resources for election campaigns (including membership lists and databases).  

  1. Candidates must send a signed copy of these Rules to the SU Elections Team at bristolsu-elections@bristol.ac.uk by Monday 3 March 09:00.  

  1. Candidates must not campaign before 09:00 on Monday 10 March until they have emailed a signed copy of these Rules to the Elections Team at bristolsu-elections@bristol.ac.uk. This includes but is not limited to: posting on live websites, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter accounts, Facebook pages or any social media specifically supporting their campaign; communications that request voters’ support. 

  1. Candidates may announce that they are standing for election and gather feedback from students to inform their campaign messages. They can do so by posting the following message once, on no more than three personal online platforms (Whatsapp, Instagram etc.): ‘I’m running for [INSERT ROLE] in the SU elections! Campaigning starts on Monday 10 March at 09:00, so I can’t say anything more right now, but if you’d like to be involved in my campaign team please get in touch with me privately.’ 

  2. Candidates must not affix stickers or use Cellotape to affix material as part of their campaign.  

  3. Candidates are responsible for the timely removal of their own campaign material. All materials, including banners and posters must be removed by Friday 14 March 2025 14:00. 
     

Respectful campaigning behaviour  

  1. In line with the Jo Cox Foundation’s pledges on respectful elections (Appendix 1), candidates must set an appropriate tone when campaigning. 

  1. Candidates must lead by example to foster constructive democratic debate. 

  1. Candidates must promote and defend the dignity of others, including their opponents. 
     

Spending Allowances 
 

  1. Candidates have an allowance for campaign expenditure and must not spend more than this. All candidates’ expenses (within the allowance) will be refunded by Bristol SU.   

    1. Full Time Officer candidates have a £65 allowance 

    2. Student Trustee, Student Council Chair, Student Community Organiser and Faculty Rep candidates have a £30 allowance 

    3. School Rep and Course Rep candidates should not spend money on their campaign. 

  2. This allowance is to be spent on a single candidate’s campaign and will be refunded on the production of receipts at the end of the election using the expenses form. Any sponsorship, special offers or discounts must be available to all candidates in a given election. Candidates must report any such opportunities to the Returning Officer before using or receiving benefit from them. 

  3. Campaign expenditure is any expenditure that is carried out with the purpose of promoting a candidate’s campaign. This includes video editing, paid social media content etc. Returning Officer’s decision on the application of this definition is final and candidates are advised to check beforehand with the Elections Team and declare all expenditure/materials on their expenses form. 

  4. All candidates must submit their expenses and receipts to bristolsu-elections@bristol.ac.uk by 10:00 on Friday 14 March. Failure to do so will delay the results of the election and may lead to a candidate's disqualification. 

 

If the Returning Officer has evidence that any candidate is not adhering to the rules they will assign sanctions as appropriate. Sanctions include, but are not limited to: 

  • Disqualification from the election 

  • Bans on campaigning for a certain period of time (or for the entire remainder of the election) 

  • Confiscation of campaign materials 

During the course of the elections, the Returning Officer (RO) may vary or further define the election rules. If you are a candidate, please check your email regularly so you can stay up to date with any changes to the rules or new guidance. 

If you are running for any of the following roles: Full Time Officer, Student Trustee, Student Community Organiser, Democratic Standards Committee, Student Council Chair or Faculty Rep you must sign and complete the form sent to you by 
bristolsu-elections@bristol.ac.uk by 09:00 Monday 3 March  
 
You cannot begin campaigning unless you have returned a signed copy of the rules via the form you have been sent. If you do start, you may be disqualified from the election. 

 

Appendix 

  1. Ref to Jo Cox principals 

https://www.jocoxfoundation.org/2021_election_pledge 

  1. Full time officer guidance 

Incumbent Full Time Officers who are not re-running for a position can either: 

  1. Take annual leave to support and campaign for one candidate. 

  1. Not support any candidate and help Bristol SU to advertise the elections, staying neutral and impartial.