The Students’ Union have reissued their guidance for voting etiquette, now that the elections for their 2024/25 leadership team have officially begun.
Students and candidates can now exercise their democratic right, but must follow these rules to ensure the process remains fair for all participating.
A three day voting window has begun, with students having until 4pm on the 7th March to cast their ballot via the SU website.
The SU makes it clear that candidates must not “seek to influence or deliberately observe a member who is engaged in the act of voting” once the window opens.
An individual, whether standing for election or not, must not “cast a vote for someone else, with or without their consent”, and no participant may “offer a cash bribe or goods in return for votes”.
However, Union leadership were keen to clarify that the guidelines do not “interfere with the freedom of all candidates to express lawful views”, including those which “may offend, shock or disturb.”
They maintain that this is a “human right which underpins a democratic society.”
The SU also makes provision for those who may be unhappy with how the elections were conducted after close of voting.
All candidates have been provided with an election complaints form with which they can report inappropriate behaviour during voting and highlight poorly-executed procedures.
All forms will be submitted to, and reviewed by, the returning officer who will respond within a single working day, and has the ability to issue a range of sanctions on those who fall foul of electoral code.
The election results will be revealed at a special ‘results night’ event on the evening of the 8th of March. This will be covered via a live feed on the Forge Press website and a livestream on Forge TV.
