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CANDIDATES’ PACK
CANDIDATES PACK CONTENT
Timeline
Who’s Who
Benefits of Running for Election
Candidate Videos & Official Candidate Photos
Campaign Tips
Candidate Expenses & Budget
Single Transferable Vote
Re-Open Nominations (RON)
Candidates Regulations (In line with Bye-Law 11)
Candidate FAQ’s & Clarifications
Trustee Eligibility Declaration
Key Training & Support Dates
TIMELINE Monday 13th February at 4pm
Deadline to Submit Candidate Statement
By email to [email protected]
Monday 13th February at 4pm
Candidates Briefing JG5007 - PR
Wednesday 15TH February 1-4pm
NUS Delegates Motion Writing
Union Meeting Room - PR
Thursday 16th February Filming slots to be booked in advance
Candidates Video Filming Moving Image Workshop -KP
Monday 20th February at 10am
Candidates Breakfast Union Office –PR
Monday 20th February at 12pm
Voting Opens Online at kingstonstudents.net/votenow
20th to 24th February 12-2pm
Candidate Drop In Sessions with DRO
Locations to be TBC
Friday 24th February at 12pm
Voting Closes
Friday 24th February at 1pm Deadline of Election Complaints
By email to [email protected] Or in person to the DRO
Friday 24th February from 5pm
Results Announcement Knights Park Bar – KP
WHO’S WHO The Returning Officer (RO) The RO is the person charged with ensuring the elections run on time, fairly and in accordance with the rules. They oversee the counting of the votes and will sign off the Official Elections documents to this effect. RO for these elections as approved by the Union Trustee Board is Peter Robinson from the National Union of Students (NUS). The RO appoints deputies to support them in their duties. One of the designated duties of any of the deputies appointed is to act as Deputy Returning Officer. A Kingston University nominated representative also acts as a Deputy providing University assistance with the running of the elections where required/ necessary. Deputy Returning Officer (DRO) The DRO will carry our duties in accordance with the election regulations in the absence of the RO. The DRO oversees the day-to-day management of the elections as has been delegated to do so by the Returning Officer to do so. They receive and approve candidate publicity materials, make decisions about the running of the election and ensure plenty of publicity, information and advice is available to all candidates about the elections. The DRO for these elections is Natalie Forrester, Representation and Democracy Manager from the Union. Appointed Deputies There are also a number of Appointed Deputies that help the DRO make decisions and ensure the smooth running of the election. This year’s Deputies are; Stephanie Johnson, Representation Coordinator at the Union and Jayne Aldridge, Director of Services for Students at the University. Staff Support for the Elections and the Returning Officer Within the Union there are members of staff coordinating the elections and working alongside the RO, DRO and any other appointed deputies, making sure the necessary forms and information are available, sorting out the administration, ensuring that the e-voting system is ready to go and providing the continuity year on year. They are also there to provide a-political advice to any candidate and to the RO, DRO and any appointed deputies. Any matters which require the attention of the RO should be directed to the DRO in the first instance and they will pass these to the RO. No candidate should contact the RO directly. For all elections correspondence please use: [email protected]
BENEFITS OF RUNNING FOR ELECTION
Put simply there is 2 main reasons for running: 1. To Influence change and represent your fellow students Your key role will be to represent the views and interests of the 19,000 + students here at Kingston University. With your help, the voice of the students and our members will be heard, important issues will be tackled and change can be made. 2. Personal Development & Benefits There are many benefits of being an Officer and many skills you will develop, some of which are listed below. Being an Officer is a unique experience unlike any other, but your involvement in the Union can also benefit your longer term career. The Union can help you develop the following key essential life and career skills: -
• Leadership on issues regarding your area and on projects throughout the year
• Communication with a diverse demographic, from students to Trustees
• Teamwork on any number of projects with staff and students
• Creativity in enriching the student experience and developing campaigns
• Self-Management as you define the remit of your role and are personally accountable to the student body
Other skills you may develop include:- Problem solving, critical thinking, meeting skills, negotiation, time management, diplomacy, project management, presentation skills and representation
CANDIDATE VIDEOS & OFFICIAL CANDIDATE PHOTOS
Each candidate standing for election will have the opportunity to promote their candidacy and explain their manifestos via official Union Elections candidate videos which will be produced by the Union and promoted through the Union’s website and social media channels during the campaigning and voting period of the elections. As outlined in the timeline for the elections, candidates will be asked to sign up for a timeslot to record their video on the 16th February. The filming slots will be released at the candidates briefing). Candidates will have 1 minute to promote their candidacy and manifesto including: - Who they are, what role they are standing for, why they are running and why students should vote for them. Following this each candidate will be asked a set of questions (these will be announced at the candidates briefing) In additional to the videos, the Union will also take a photo of each candidate to use in elections publicity. Top Tips for Videos and Photos
• Make sure you book your slot • Get to the studio with plenty of time • Rehearse your timings and practice with friends • If you need notes, make bullet points • Talk to the camera and no one else in the room • Take your time and don’t rush • Less is more – you don’t need to use the whole time
CAMPAIGN TIPS
The key to a good campaign is to publicise yourself as much as possible therefore you should consider going the extra mile, ideas include: Signs & Posters Campaign signs and posters are the best way to let people know you're running for office. Decide on a strategy: what should go on them, how many you need and where you will put them. Ensure the maximum amount of people will see your signs and posters. Student Media Candidates are encouraged to engage with student media in the run-up to elections. You can write ‘comment pieces’ on topics that are important to you and your campaign and submit this to The River. Any comment pieces will be viewed as election material so you should make sure that they comply with the Election Regulations. Social Media Use of social media is really popular during elections but it's hard to convert 'likes' into actions. Tell your contacts why you would be a great candidate; get people to change their profile picture to a message to encourage their contacts to vote for you, upload pictures, start a group or a page etc. See if you can get your name trending on Twitter- whatever you think will reach out to your fellow students. Make A Film It’s increasingly common for candidates to create a short film showing themselves talking about why they should be elected. You can spread them on Facebook, You Tube etc. Some candidates have sung along to favourite songs or copied famous movie scenes. Get Your Friends Involved Your friends can be an excellent network to encourage their network of friends to vote for you as well. Campus is a relatively small place and everyone is connected through friends, clubs and society groups etc. Because funding is limited for each post you need to be inventive – but remember to check your campaign ideas first with the DRO by emailing [email protected]
CANDIDATE EXPENSES & BUDGET
Each candidate running for election shall have a budget for publicity and sundries, the amount of which is determined annually by the Union. The budget for candidates standing for election during the 2016/17 academic year will be £50.00 per candidate per election. A candidate’s publicity and sundries expenditure must not exceed the stated budget. Candidates failing to hand in their expenses claim form within 7 calendar days after the close of voting will not be able to claim back any expenses. Form is attached at the end of this pack. All candidate expenditure must be receipted in order for it to be reimbursed by the Union. Failure by a candidate to produce a receipt for any expenditure with result in that expenditure not being reimbursed by the Union. As outlined in the Candidate Regulations even pre-owned items used by a candidate have a cost and thus must be accounted for as part of those candidates expenses. Nothing is free – even if it is! Everything has a price to make it a fair playing field (except old cardboard). The cost of pre-owned items must be included within your expenses although the cost of these can’t be claimed back and thus won’t be reimbursed by the Union. Campaign Materials & Prices Stamps and Wristbands are allowed as long as the costs of such items are accounted for in your expenditure. Face Painting is allowed as long as the costs of the paints used are accounted for in your expenditure. Pre-Owned/ Existing Materials
• Old bed sheet single £1 • Old bed sheet double £2 • String (per ball) £2 • Pens = 50p each • Tape (various varieties) per roll = £1.00 • Paint = £2.50 (per pot) • T-shirts = £2.50 each
NB. – Items pre-owned will not be reimbursed but must be accounted for in your budget. NB2. – The list of Pre-owned materials is not exhaustive and if candidates have any materials not listed that they which to use they should contact the DRO ([email protected]) for clarification and/or price. New Materials = New items simply require a receipt.
Posters And Banners
Don’t waste your time putting them up on Public Roads outside campuses as they will be removed by the Council. Please love nature, don’t damage trees. Please do not deface University buildings. Do not put posters on accessibility ramps into buildings. Buildings You can campaign in any University buildings. Do not draw or mark any University property. Do not put campaign materials on any painted surface or block any vision panels. These will be taken down by KUSCO and may result in all posters across all sites being removed . Any posters in Penrhyn Road Main Building Reception and Main Corridor should be displayed in the A4 Frames on the columns. Lecture Shouts Please try and arrange these in advance with lecturers! Lecture shouts are permissible at the discretion of the Lecturer – if they say no, or get out, please respect their wishes. You can’t use the fact that another Candidate has requested permission from a Lecturer to do a Lecture shout as the basis to do a Lecture shout also – you must seek your own permission. If you do a lecture shout please ensure that you finish before 5 minutes past the hour.
VOTING The voting opens on the Monday 20th February at 12 noon and close on the Friday 24th February at 12 noon. Voting is online on our website at www.kingstonstudents.net/votenow All students are eligible to vote in all elections including voting for all of the campus officers. Students will have to log in to the student using the big purple button
If students have any problems with voting, please ask them to email [email protected] You can use your own devices to get students to vote but you are not allowed do not force students to vote for you (i.e use their log in details to vote) or not allow them to vote on your device because they said they are not voting for you.
Single Transferable Voting
Sometimes known as Alternative Transferrable Vote, a student’s vote is initially allocated to their preferred candidate, and then they can also select their second choice, third choice and so on. If their preferred candidate is subsequently eliminated their vote will be passed on to their second choice candidate. If the second choice candidate had already been eliminated, the votes then get transferred to their third choice candidate and so on. You can see how this works here https://tinyurl.com/STVvoting
Re-open Nominations (R.O.N) RON is not a real person but instead stands for Re-open Nominations. If you vote for them, you are expressing your opinion that the remaining candidates are not suitable for the position. Voting for RON means that you are voting against the remaining candidates, and shows that you would prefer to nominate new candidates rather than accept any of the current candidates. If RON wins the election, then it means that the election will be re-opened, and new candidates can be nominated. The election will then be re-run at a later date. NUS Fair Representation
At NUS National Conference 2014, a motion called Fair Representation was passed to ensure that all future delegations to national conference would consist of “at least 50% women, rounded down.” In the year 2013/14, women in leadership was an organisational priority for NUS. The motion was submitted as women students are underrepresented in student politics. The motion aims to ensure that women students are able to have a say in national policy, engage with decision making of the highest level, and stand for election should they wish to.
In order for us to comply with the new regulations, we ask all candidates running in the election to self-define their gender on their profile on our website before they nominate themselves online to go to national conference. The official definition from NUS is: "All who self-define as women, including (if they wish) those with complex gender identities which include ‘woman’."
Fair representation only applies to the delegation we send to National Conference
CANDIDATE REGULATIONS (In-Line with Bye-Law 11: Election Regulations)
Principles These regulations are based on the following underlying principles:
• Fairness and reasonableness • Removing barriers to participation • Encouraging active participation at all levels
They should be considered in line with the Union of Kingston Students Bye-Law 11 – Election Regulations Eligibility
• All candidates must be current enrolled students at the time of the close of nominations. • Only Ordinary Members of the Union are eligible to stand in any election. • Only Ordinary Members of the Union may vote in any election. • Members of the Union are eligible to stand for the Student Officer role associated with the
campus that is identified as the primary location for the course of studies they are enrolled on and undertaking studies in at the time of standing for election.
• In the case of members undertaking a joint honours course where studies at more than one campus could be identified, members will be eligible to stand for the student officer role at any campus identified as a location for studies for said joint honours course
• Members are only eligible to stand for one (1) identified Student Officer role at any time in any given election for Student Officers.
• Members can only stand for the role of Student Trustee if you are going to be enrolled onto a course at Kingston University in the 17/18 academic year and must fulfil certain criteria.
• Further limits on eligibility may be laid out in the Union Constitution and Byelaws.
Managing Elections
• An external Returning Officer (RO) will be appointed. The RO will have the final ruling on all issues related to the elections.
• The RO will be supported by appointed deputies including a designated Deputy Returning Officer (DRO) who will oversee day to day election activity along with investigating any complaints or other issues as required in line with Union Byelaw 11 – Election Regulations.
• The RO, DRO and any other appointed deputy, shall not be a candidate or an open supporter of any candidate.
Election rules
• Expenditure must not exceed the amount per candidate stated at the start of the election process. Any overspend will result in investigation and possible sanctions up to and including disqualification.
• All candidates must have an equal and fair opportunity to promote their candidacy in terms of resource and accessibility to the student voters.
• Publicity must only promote your own candidacy (and the name of a slate if you are involved in one).
• Publicity and all forms of campaigning (including all social media) must not be used in a way that a reasonable person would see as a breach of University bullying and harassment or other existing rules. A breach will result in investigation and possible sanctions up to and including disqualification as well as any additional sanctions applied by the University.
Standing Rules
• Any behaviour linked to the elections which breaches any of the Union’s byelaws, the law and University regulations (for example, but not limited to: equal opportunities, bullying and harassment, data regulations etc.) will be referred to the RO/ DRO for possible sanctions up to and including disqualification.
• The RO/ DRO will rule on breaches of election regulations and refer breaches of Union or University regulations and the law to appropriate persons for investigation.
• In the latter case any election results may be delayed until the University have investigated the complaint and ruled on the future eligibility of the candidate.
Slates and Endorsements
• A slate is defined as candidates sharing a distinctive visual brand and identifying themselves as a single group.
• Candidates standing in any NUS delegate election cannot stand as part of a slate. • Physical promotional materials for a slate can only contain the single candidate’s name and
the name of a slate – it cannot refer to other members of the slate. • Slates or individual candidates cannot be sponsored by an external company. • Any candidate can publically approve of another candidate; whether or not they are in the
same slate. An endorsement is limited to a public statement of support that may be reproduced by the candidate
Candidate Behaviour/ Conduct
• Behaviour of candidates will be managed via both “Election Regulations” and “Standing Rules” (Union Constitution, Union Bye-laws, University regulations and the law). As a rule of thumb – if any behaviour would be unacceptable the rest of the time, it is unacceptable as part of the elections.
• Candidates may criticise only the policies of another candidate that have appeared in the campaign, but not the persona of another candidate.
• Candidates shall in no way attempt to undermine the fair and democratic running of the election.
• Candidates shall be responsible for the conduct of those campaigning on their behalf. Candidate and Elections Publicity
• The RO/ DRO must approve all candidates’ publicity. • All publicity promoting the opening of nominations and further information pertinent to the
running of the elections is the responsibility of the RO, the DRO and any appointed deputies.
• The RO/ DRO will not approve candidate’s publicity content that directly, or indirectly, criticises the persona of any other candidate.
• Only personal online communication or social media sites may be used by candidates in order to promote their election campaigns. All online campaign activity must adhere to the principles outlined under ‘Candidate Behaviour/ Conduct’.
• Candidates may not use society, sports club, commercial, or group email lists or social media sites to refer to individual candidates or their policies. Candidates should make every attempt to ensure emails are not sent out on their behalf by these groups, as disciplinary actions may be instigated against them. Neither may these groups, clubs or societies actively endorse any candidate.
• Candidate’s manifestos will be made available on the Union website. • Each candidate shall be given a budget for publicity and sundries, the amount of which shall
be determined annually by the Union. • The budget for Candidates standing for election during the 2016./17 academic year will be
£50.00 per candidate per election. • Candidate’s publicity and sundries expenditure must not exceed the given budgets. • Candidates failing to hand in their expenses claim within 7 calendar days after the close of
voting will not be able to claim back any expenses. • All Candidate expenditure must be receipted in order for it to be reimbursed by the Union.
Failure to produce a receipt for any expenditure with result in that expenditure not being reimbursed.
• The only name that candidate’s publicity may mention is that of the candidate, unless approved by the RO/ DRO.
• In terms of publicity and campaigning Candidates should only do what others would have the opportunity to do.
Regulations for existing officers
• Any existing officer is entitled to endorse a candidate for any post. • No officer can campaign for themselves or an endorsed candidate during their working
hours. • No officer can take advantage of their role or the resources linked to it as part of their
campaign or on behalf of an endorsed candidate (examples of this may include privileged e-mail lists, wearing election branded union clothing whilst working, use of stationery, printing, copying etc. This list is not exhaustive and open to interpretation by the RO/ DRO.
Complaints, Sanctions and Appeals
• Any complaints must be made in writing in the first instance to the DRO who will then decide the appropriate course of action for dealing with the complaint.
• All complaints will be addressed by the RO/ DRO in conjunction with any appointed deputies where necessary.
• Vexatious complaints will be dealt with as a breach of election rules. • Sanctions in the case of an upheld complaint may be applied up to and including
disqualification. • Decisions of the RO are final with no further route for appeal.
CANDIDATE FAQ’s & CLARIFICATIONS
The Union has tried to cover and answer all queries, questions, concerns, issues etc. received from candidates to date in respect of Union elections.
It maybe that further clarifications are published from the Returning Officer (RO) and/ or Deputy Returning Officer (DRO) Approval Of Promotional/ Campaign Materials Please send the DRO at [email protected] ONE email to get ALL your promotional/ campaign materials approved. Please try and include/ outline/attach all the materials you want approved in one go! Please only send us an email once you’ve got all the materials you want approved. Any posters utilised by a candidate to promote their campaign must be stamped with the Union stamp to avoid them being removed/ taken down by KUSCO. All candidates are asked to submit an original copy of any posters to the DRO at [email protected] who will then stamp the poster which can subsequently be used as a master copy to photocopy posters bearing the Union stamp. Websites Candidates are allowed to have as many as you like.The Union will only advertise one website/ social media site or link (Facebook/ Twitter), not one of each. Videos Make as many as you like at no cost. Social Media Usage - Facebook/ Twitter/ Instagram/ Snapchat Q. Can my friends make my campaign material their profile picture on their own page? A. Yes Q. Can my friends post status updates to vote for me? A. Yes Q. Can a Facebook Group/Society/Sports Club change the picture or post updates? A. No Q. Can I have Facebook events and groups for my campaign? A. Yes Q. Can I setup a Twitter Feed for my Elections campaign? A. Yes Q. Can I setup a Twitter Hashtag for my Elections campaign? A. Yes (however we would encourage you to use our official Elections hashtag #Makeyourmark)
ISSUES & COMPLAINTS
Any issues should be made in writing to the DRO at [email protected] All issues/ Complaints received into DRO will be addressed in a reasonable time. The DRO will clarify in a separate communicate to all candidates ‘reasonable timescales’ for responses. The deadline for all election complaints is 1pm on the 24th February. Any complaints received after this time will not be considered unless it relates to the count. Anything not covered in these FAQs should be addressed to the DRO at [email protected]
TRUSTEE ELIGIBILITY DECLARATION
Any member elected to the role of a Campus Officer should understand that this role also carries a Trustee status which includes a certain number additional responsibilities. As such all candidates running for a Campus Officer are asked to read and observe the following responsibilities - they will be asked to sign a copy of this declaration stating they have understood the responsibilities and are eligible to stand for the role they wish to run for As Trustees, your key responsibilities are:
• You have overall responsibility to set and maintain a vision, mission and values for the Students’ Union.
• You must ensure the Students’ Union complies with the law. • You have a duty of prudence to ensure that the Students’ Union will remain solvent, that its
assets are used sensibly in furtherance of its charitable purposes and that its assets are not placed at undue risk.
• You have a duty to ensure that, as a Trustee, you use reasonable due care and skill to ensure the charity is well-run and efficient.
• You must act in the interests of the Students’ Union as a whole. • You must be eligible to be a charity trustee to be elected to the role of Campus Officer or
Student Trustee. Most people are eligible, but some people are disqualified by law from acting as trustees. Those disqualified include anyone described in sections 178 to 180 of the Charities Act 2011. This includes:
• Anyone who has an unspent conviction for an offence involving deception or dishonesty; • Anyone who is an undischarged bankrupt; • Anyone who has been removed from trusteeship of a charity by the Court or the
Commission for misconduct or mismanagement; and • Anyone under a disqualification order under the Company Directors Disqualification Act
1986. • Anyone who has entered into a composition or arrangement with their creditors which
includes an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA), and is currently on the Insolvency Service Register.
It is normally an offence to act as a trustee while disqualified unless the Charity Commission has given a waiver under section 181 of the Charities Act 2011, (there are some special provisions applying to the administration of charitable companies). Please note that the Union of Kingston Students may undertake further checks to ensure that any declaration from a candidate in respect of their eligibility to stand for and serve as a trustee is accurate. All candidates for roles holding trustee status will be asked to declare they have read and understood this information. They will be asked to confirm that they are eligible to be a charity trustee under the laws applicable in England and Wales. Any student with any question about Trustee eligibility should contact the Deputy Returning Officer by emailing [email protected]
DATA PROTECTION
The Union of Kingston Students will use this data for the purposes of administrating the elections and for research about which members engage in the Unions democratic processes. Any students with any questions about this should contact the Deputy Returning Officer [email protected]
KEY TRAINING & SUPPORT DATES Officer Induction = Monday 5th June – Friday 30th June 2017 Term of Office = 1st July 2017 – 30th June 2018 Elected Campus Officers are asked not to book any holidays during the induction period as well as during July & August 2017. In addition to this, Elected Campus Officers are unable to take more than 5 consecutive days of annual leave during term dates unless for exceptional circumstances.
UNION OF KINGSTON STUDENTS
ELECTIONS CANDIDATE EXPENSES FORM
Name: Position Stood For:
I certify that the expenses claimed by me have been wholly and necessarily incurred in relation to my Elections Campaign, are in accordance with the Elections Rules and Association expenses policy as laid out by the Union and that I have attached receipts where applicable.
Signed: Date:
Date Purchased Code Dept Cost (£)3360 RDM ELE
Authorised Signature Name Date
New/ Pre-ownedDetails of Item/ Expenditure
Total Total being Claimed
