The Assistant Returning Officers (AROs) form the rest of the team administering elections. They work with, and report to, the Deputy Returning Officer.
A ballot is a system of voting confidentially in an election. Every student who is a member of The Students’ Union must cast their own ballot. This is done electronically on the Students’ Union website or through a voting device at one of the polling stations, we do not use paper ballots in our Elections.
A by-election is an additional election that happens when positions in The Students’ Union are not filled in the Elections. This typically occurs in October in the same calendar year of the March Elections.
These are a set of rules that set out the specific structures, rules and processes of The Students' Union at UWE that govern our day-to-day operations as a charity. The Bye-Laws , part of The Students’ Union at UWE Constitution are reviewed every 5 years.
A campaign is how candidates try to persuade voters to vote for them. Campaigns are visible, and candidates in elections and their campaign team talk to voters about what they hope to achieve in the role and why they would be a good person to vote for. A campaign team can be made up by the candidates, their campaign manager and co-opted members of the student community who represent the candidate.
A candidate is a person who is nominated, and has put themselves forward, in an election for a role and would be the person who is elected based on winning their role in the election. They have at least 5 seconders/supporters who support them in running for the role.
A complaint is a formal statement about something they consider unsatisfactory or unacceptable. The Elections Complaint Form can be used to lodge a complaint with the full process laid out in the Elections Rules , only current UWE students or staff can make a complaint.
The Deputy Returning Officer (DRO) is responsible for the day-to-day running of the elections, including responding to complaints in the first instance and applying sanctions where appropriate. Their responsibilities are laid out in full in Bye-Law 2 (page 4).
An election is a democratic procedure through which one or more persons are chosen as for open roles through a ballot process and voted by students at UWE Bristol for a particular term. Most Students’ Unions in the UK elect their sabbatical officer and other key student leaders through elections held and voted for by the students at that university. Elected Student Leaders work with a team of Students’ Union staff to enrich students university experience by giving students as many opportunities as possible while at UWE Bristol, therefore The Student Elections are crucial to electing these representatives.
The Elections team are made up of the Returning Officer (RO), Deputy Returning Officer (DRO) and the Assistant Returning Officers (AROs). They run the elections and are your first port of call if you have questions, queries or concerns.
Eligibility relates to a set of conditions you must meet to be able to take part in the elections process.
To be eligible to run in the elections you must be a current student at UWE Bristol and be either finishing your studies or deferring your studies to be a full time President or Vice President before your term begins or be a registered student for your term if you are a Part Time Officer.
To be eligible to vote in the elections you must be a member of The Students’ Union which every student would have become when starting at UWE Bristol.
An employment contract is a legally binding agreement between an employer and employee. It attributes roles and responsibilities to the employee. Our full time President and Vice Presidents have employment contracts with The Students’ Union.
An endorsement is the act of saying you approve or support a candidate. The endorsement guidelines are contained in the Elections Rules for any sports club or society that wants to endorse a candidate.
The hustings are an event during the elections period where candidates are able to address potential voters by answering their questions directly. The Students’ Union will be running a hustings, called Question Time, for candidates running for SU President or the Vice President roles to speak about their key priorities and give student voters an opportunity to compare candidates.
A manifesto is a declaration of your policies, aims and targets of the candidate. It should clearly lay out what your priorities are for your term in office and how you intend to make it happen. A manifesto forms part of a candidate’s campaign, alongside reasons why they think they would be good for the role, ie the skills and experience they might bring to be the best candidate..
A nomination is the act of formally suggesting a person to be a candidate for a role in the elections. Prospective candidates nominate themselves on The Students’ Union website before the nomination period is closed, nominations received after the deadline will not be accepted.
A place where you can cast your vote in the election The Students’ Union will be organising physical polling stations at all campuses for students to cast their votes, voters can also cast their vote on their own device but should seek help at a physical polling station if there are issues.
A proposer/nominator is someone who formally submits a nomination to run for a role in the election. The proposer/nominator will usually be the person who will be running in the election, they will need to be a current, registered UWE student and agree to the terms and rules set out to all candidates before being confirmed as a candidate in the election.
The Returning Officer (RO) is an external expert who is (re)appointed annually by the Board of Trustees to be the final decision-maker on issues around the elections and to ensure that they proceed according to the rules and the Constitution. The RO delegates their authority to the Deputy Returning Officer and their assistants, and acts as the appeals stage for any election complaints.
A sabbatical officer is a full-time officer elected by the members of The Students’ Union elected annually and can run for a maximum of two years (as per Education Act 1994). At The Student’s Union at UWE, we refer to our sabbatical officers as ‘Presidents’ and are 5 full-time SU President and Vice Presidents. They represent the UWE Bristol student voice locally and on a national scale as part of the National Union of Students (NUS). Our Presidents are leaders, commercial directors and trustees of the Students’ Union.
Taking a sabbatical year to be a President means that the student would have completed their studies or be taking a year out of studying during their term.
A seconder is someone who formally backs the nomination of a candidate in the election. They will need to be a current, registered UWE student and give their permission to be a proposer to a candidate, they are not obligated to vote for them in the election.
A catchy, memorable phrase used across the campaign to attract students, give a feel of their campaign and set them apart from other candidates. Candidates may choose to select or create a campaign slogan but it is not mandatory.
The Students’ Union at UWE is led by students, for students, with our elected Presidents and Part-Time Officers representing your academic and student experience. Every student at UWE Bristol automatically becomes a member of The Students’ Union when they start university, which means we have more than 39,000 members. For more information on what the Students’ Union does then check out this video .
A term is a period of time that you are the elected role holder for. In our elections, one term equates to one year that typically starts from June the same year you are elected. For the 2025/26 Presidents the term will be from 23 June 2025 – 26 June 2026, for the Part Time Officers it will be July 2025 – June 2026.
Trustees are individuals who make decisions on behalf of the charity. They act collectively with the specific roles and duties of the trustees set out in the Articles of Association and Bye-Laws . The SU President and Vice Presidents will be trustees when they take to office and join up to 2 student trustees and up to 4 external trustees to make up the Board of Trustees. More information about charity trustees can be found here
The time period where students can cast their ballot in the elections. This typically runs for 4 days, you can cannot amend your vote once it has been cast.