The SU runs elections so you can decide who should be the next group of students to run and lead SU activities. Most of the non-academic activities here at Bath are run through the SU, and there are lots of positions you could vote in or nominate yourself for including full-time paid positions and part-time voluntary positions. Elected students then set the direction of the SU, decide on student policy, and run campaigns and events to improve students' lives.
Elections run throughout the academic year for different positions across The SU. Some take place at the beginning of Semester 1 and others take place across the Spring in Semester 2.
You can find all the election dates on our Election Timetables page.
All Bath SU elections are overseen by a Returning Officer (a staff member or external expert) who makes sure that they are fair, transparent, and successful. You can email sureturningofficer@bath.ac.uk at any time to ask the Returning Officer a question, voice a concern, or report an unfair situation.
A manifesto tells people why you want to represent them and why they should vote for you; it sets out your ideas and plans. Essentially your manifesto needs to say WHY you think you would be a good elected representative and WHAT you would do if you were elected. The manifesto word limit is 500 words.
Anyone! All registered students at the University of Bath, in whatever, year, whether postgraduate or undergraduate, home or international, may stand and vote.
Some elections are limited to the members of a particular group. For example, only postgraduates may stand for, or may vote in, elections for the Postgraduate Taught Executive Committee (not to be confused with the election for the Postgraduate Officer, where only postgraduates may stand but any student may vote).
If you are a distance learner and want to run in the election and need any support, please contact the Deputy Returning Officer (sureturningofficer@bath.ac.uk) who will be happy to assist you in the election.
This means that we have received your nomination and it is waiting for approval. SU Staff will bulk approve all nominations after the closing deadline, during this process we will make sure that our elections are fair & inclusive to all.
If you see a message that says you're ineligible to stand or vote for a particular position please contact sureturningofficer@bath.ac.uk. 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 for in your email.
Sometimes - it depends on the positions. You can stand to be an Academic Rep and any other part-time position (Chair of a Group, Faculty Rep, NUS delegate, etc.). You can also stand to be an NUS (National Union of Students) delegate or any other position. If you aren't sure, please email sureturningofficer@bath.ac.uk.
Yes, the rules can be found on the Elections Rules page - please read through them carefully. If you have any questions or would like clarification, please ask the Returning Officer.
In the context of elections, campaigning is what candidates do to get votes - it's not just handing out leaflets though! 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, not just trendy slogans or avalanches of tweets. Check out the candidate support page to find out more about campaigning.
The SU Bath 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. 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-Opening of Nominations. All Union elections give the option for voters to express their wish that nominations for a role should be re-opened. Voting for this option is usually taken when voters do not feel as though any of the candidates offer viable or credible policies.