Election Rules

In order for our elections to be fair, transparent and legally compliant, there are a number of rules and regulations that must be followed. We have condensed them to be as clear and easy to understand as possible, but you can also see the full, original rules as per our bye-laws, here.

Adapted from Bye-Law 9 Elections

Oversights/Complaints

1. Our Returning Officer is Jeanette Pegler, who is also the Deputy Returning Officer for Camden Council. They oversee the fair conduct of our elections, interpret the Bye-Laws to rule on complaints, and oversee the count of the elections.
2. Any complaints about the elections process or the conduct of candidates and their supporters must be made no later than 13:00 on Friday 20 March 2026 via this webform: https://studentsunionucl.org/forms/elections-complaints-form. Complaints not submitted through this webform will not be considered.
3. Complaints will initially be reviewed by the Representation and Democracy Team.
4. The Deputy Returning Officer, Simon To (Director of Policy, Governance & Advocacy) in consultation with the Returning Officer as appropriate, shall make a ruling on the matter within two working days of receipt of the complaint. They may give the candidate the right of reply before making a ruling.
5. The Union may take any of the following disciplinary actions, including but not limited to:
   1. Written warning
   2. Ban on campaigning for a designated length of time, depending on the severity of the infraction
   3. Disqualification

Eligibility/Nominations:

1. Candidates must be a current student enrolled on a programme at UCL.
2. Candidates for non-sabbatical officer roles will also need to be eligible to continue their programme of study, and not on a year abroad or interrupting their studies for the following academic year.
3. Candidates must meet the eligibility requirements for specific roles as outlined in the position profiles.
4. Candidates must attend one of Candidate Briefing on Friday 6 March 2026. If they cannot attend, they must email [email protected]. Candidates must also review and adhere to any election guidance sent to them.
5. Candidates are not permitted to run for more than one role within the same non-club and society category (Sabbatical Officers, Student Officers, Activities Reps, Networks).
6. If a candidate fails to meet the above requirements they will be withdrawn from the election. If the election has already occurred, the officer or officer-elect shall be removed from their position.

Campaigning and expenses

1. The Returning Officer and Deputy Returning Officer will interpret the election rules and Bye-Laws during the election period.
2. No campaigning can take place before Monday 9 March 2026 at 16:00. This includes promoting websites, social media posts, and in-person campaigning.
3. Candidates must not exceed the budget they can spend on their campaign. This stands at £200 for Sabbatical Officer candidates and £60 for Student Officer, Student Trustee, Activities Rep and Network Representative candidates. Each nomination will be considered a separate candidate and have separate budget allocations. However, individuals cannot pool resources for across positions.
4. Candidates who are running as part of a job share will be treated as one candidate.
5. Campaign expenses are defined as all campaign materials, including online advertisements, which have a market value above £0.00.
6. Candidates must not share campaign expenses with another candidate.
7. Candidates must not remove or damage another candidate’s publicity.
8. Candidates cannot pay other students to be on their campaign team or to vote for them.
9. Materials which are received free of charge shall be counted towards a candidate’s budget and must be noted on the Election Budget Form, listed at the current market value of the materials.
10. Candidates must not use resources that are not readily available to all candidates.
11. If candidates are in doubt that any activity might be construed as creating an unfair advantage, they should seek advice by emailing [email protected].
12. If candidates are publishing campaign materials in another language, they must ensure an English translation is provided.
13. Candidates must submit their election budget by 10:00 on Friday 20 March 2026. Failure to do so will mean that they are removed from the election.
14. Candidates may criticise another candidate’s campaign but must never be personal. Candidates and their supporters must not:
    1. Reference another candidate’s personal traits or character. 
    2. Misrepresent another candidate’s religious, political, or other views or actions. 
    3. Intimidate any participant in the election, candidate, campaigner, student, staff or other.  
    4. Deliberately sabotage any campaign other than their own. 
    5. Deface any campaign materials (such as publicity, online media, social networking sites) of another candidate. 
    6. Make any attempt to influence the impartiality of the Returning Officer or Union staff. 
    7. Permanently damage any Union or UCL area or property. 
15. If a candidate or any of their supporters are currently, or have previously been, a Students’ Union officer, volunteer, network committee member, club or society committee member or staff member – they must not use any facilities or communication methods that are not available to all candidates for the purpose of campaigning.
16. Candidates must follow the Students’ Union’s data protection guidance. As part of this guidance, candidates must not send communication to individual students unsolicited and without their consent.
17. Candidates are responsible for removing their campaign material after the close of voting. The count cannot take place until campaigning materials have been removed.

Voting

1. No member shall have more than one vote. 
2. All voting shall be conducted by secret ballot through a transferable vote system.
3. Re-Open Nominations (RON) shall be a candidate in all elections.
4. Candidates and their supporters may not make any unsolicited offer to provide a device for a voter to cast votes on.