1. It is important to remember that during the election campaign you continue to be bound by sets of rules that, whilst not strictly election rules, still have a bearing on your conduct.

• Union Rules/Policies: This includes abiding by the Union Code of Conduct. Candidates should be aware that breaking Union rules may result in disciplinary action, either through the code of conduct or other consequences including potential disqualification from the election.
• University Rules: For example, the bullying and harassment code, damage to University property and buildings, the policy on acceptable use of computers and e-mail etc. This is all outlined in the University Regulations. Breaking University rules can result in a University disciplinary.
• The Law: For instance, the Equality Act 2010, laws protecting the defacement of property and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Breaking the Law can result in a civil action or criminal prosecution.

2. Any of these outcomes may put a candidacy in jeopardy and all of the above rules are enforceable by the Deputy and Returning Officer as election rules.

Current COVID-19 restrictions – Plan B

We want to be clear about how campaigning will be undertaken this year. However, we advise candidates to monitor updates about COVID-19 guidance as restrictions can change frequently. UK Government COVID-19 Guidance

England is moving to Plan B in response to the risks of the Omicron variant.

• Get vaccinated and get your booster dose.
• Wear a face covering in most indoor public places and on public transport.
• Work from home, if you can.
• Let fresh air in if you meet indoors. Meeting outdoors is safer.
• Get tested and self-isolate if required.
• You need to show your NHS COVID Pass at nightclubs, some venues and large events to show you’re fully vaccinated, have had a negative test result in the last 48 hours, or you have an exemption.
• Fully vaccinated contacts of someone with COVID-19 should take rapid lateral flow tests every day for 7 days. If you test positive or develop symptoms, you need to self-isolate for 10 days. Find out when to self-isolate and what to do on the NHS website.
• On campus, you are required to wear a face mask in most indoor spaces unless you are eating or drinking.
• As candidates you are likely to come into contact with a lot of students, so we recommend that you are extra vigilant and maintain social distance.

It is advised that unless there is a significant change in local or national restrictions, all candidates are currently able to campaign both in person and online, but all face to face campaigning activity should follow the rules for the location it takes place in, therefore ensuring the safety of both candidates and voters.

It is important to remember that even if the Government guidance allows it, some students – either candidates or voters - will not feel comfortable with face to face campaigning, so it is important for campaigners to mindful of this and respect others boundaries and concerns.

Similarly, case numbers are rising and the Omicron variant is highly transmissible, so candidates are advised not to organise any large in person events (more than 15 people) for the purposes of campaigning. Large online events are fine and it is ok for candidates to campaign at SU events organised for another purpose, with permission of the organisers, as these have been risk assessed and adhere to current guidance.

We take students’ and staff safety very seriously and anyone found not to be following the above COVID-19 requirements may be at risk of being disqualified. We will continue to review Government guidance and will update all candidates if we need to update this guidance.

1. We expect all candidates to adhere to the following election and campaigning principles:

• Fair and open
• Democratic
• Accessible
• Transparent

2. We encourage candidates to treat each other with respect and discourage negative campaigning but ultimately the tone of the election is decided by the candidates.

• Based on personal characteristics rather than their manifesto or suitability for the role
• Discriminatory
• Harassing
• Offensive
• Defamatory (harmful and/or untrue)

Any inappropriate behaviour will be treated seriously and could have repercussions not only for someone’s candidacy in the election, but could also potentially result in a university disciplinary investigation or a uea(SU) code of conduct investigation. In addition, candidates must not:

• Conduct themselves in a manner that is detrimental to uea(su) or UEA
• Make promises you know you cannot keep

3. Campaigners must take reasonable steps to ensure that their supporter’s actions comply with the campaign rules at all times and must be able to demonstrate this in the event of a complaint against them. This includes all activity by supporters online. In the event of a dispute with the Deputy Returning Officer as to whether an individual was under the control of a candidate, candidates may appeal to the Returning Officer.

4. Candidates and their Campaigners may only promote, share, alter, move or remove their own campaign materials.

5. No candidate may use a club/society/academic reps mailing list for campaign purposes without consent. A student group should treat all such requests equally and without favouring any one candidate.

6. The SU’s bye-laws outlaw bullying or intimidating a member into voting for a particular candidate or preference. As a result Candidates and their Campaigners must allow voters to cast their ballot freely and must not communicate with voters in any way once they have begun to complete their ballot. If Candidates and their Campaigners can see how a voter is expressing preferences and voting, for example, on a digital device such as a laptop or mobile, they are in breach of this rule.

7. Candidates may adopt similar policy stances and use similar publicity materials, such as posters or social media posts to other candidates, however, no candidate shall use publicity to promote another candidate, in the same or another election.

8. In order to ensure adherence to the principles outlined in bye-law 5.9:

• No elected officer of uea(su) may endorse a specific candidate in any union election in any verbal or written fashion.
• Elected Officers remain permitted to encourage students to participate in and run in elections.
• No electoral candidate may accept and subsequently publish an endorsement by an individual who is not a member of uea(su). This means that you could not get a celebrity to endorse you on Instagram or your local MP to give you a statement of support.
• No elected Union Officer may offer a specific electoral candidate advice on an individual level on any matters regarding manifesto realisation or manifesto construction, which goes beyond providing general, universal guidance.

9. Candidates and campaigners are required to pay due attention to health and safety and care for university and SU property whilst campaigning on campus. Any candidate found to be deliberately damaging or defacing property, or causing a hazard to others will be investigated both through these election rules and potentially also through the university’s disciplinary procedures.

All campaigning activity should adhere to our expenses guidelines (see F Campaigning and Expenditure below) and take place in line with our election principles:

• Fair and open
• Democratic
• Accessible
• Transparent

Campaigning can take many forms including but not limited to:

• Media advertising - the use of paid or unpaid media to influence voters through physical publicity materials, such as t-shirts, badges, flyers and posters or online through websites, online communities, email and social media influencing
• Arranging campaigning meetings and events
• Hustings - an official event where all the candidates for particular roles have an opportunity to answer questions about their manifestos and suitability for the role in front of voters
• Writing directly to voters
• Attending existing events e.g. a club or society meeting or a drop in
• Using endorsements (see Bye Laws 5.12 below)

5.1 Campaign activity may take place in Union House and around campus, but it must not cause a health and safety risk or disrupt teaching or learning including individual study.

Campaigning may not take place in:

• The library or quiet study spaces
• The SU office

If a candidate wishes to promote their campaign in a lecture or tutorial, or other academic space, such as an SSLC, either online or in person, they must request permission of the lead academic. If they agree, they must allow other candidates to do the same, if requested.

Candidates should be mindful if campaigning in accommodation areas that they are in students’ homes. They should not cause a disturbance or a nuisance. Remember this applies to candidates’ supporters as well as the candidates themselves.

It is important to remember that any online campaigning for SU elections is an official part of the election process and governed by the same rules. So any behaviour that would be considered unacceptable at a physical event, is equally as unacceptable in any online campaigning space. All users interacting with the Students’ Union, or a representative of the Students’ Union (including student leaders), should have an expectation of feeling safe.

1. In order for SU staff to monitor campaigning to ensure it adheres to these guidelines, where possible please include #YourSUYourSay on online campaign posts.
2. Live streaming will be considered publishing and therefore all the same campaigning rules apply during a live stream.
3. Due to the difficult nature of keeping a record of candidate campaigning on Snapchat, we will not be allowing the use of Snapchat as a platform for campaigning.
4. No external endorsements – this includes no use of celebrities, social media influencers etc who are not members of uea(su).
5. Consider your digital footprint when creating your campaign assets. If you use your personal social media accounts bear in mind what your friends, family and future employers will see.
6. Consider your privacy – you might prefer to create an account specifically for campaigning, but this must still be visible to election officials so that we can ensure it is compliant with election rules. When campaigning with supporters, do not give them passwords and access to your social media accounts.
7. Be aware also that some groups you post in may include alumni, not just current students.
8. Consider the purpose of the online spaces you are campaigning in – a closed Facebook group or a dating site might be considered a private space where people may not welcome campaigning.
9. Keep in mind copyright and ownership of images and content when creating or sharing campaign materials.
10. Some platforms allow for anonymity and some users take this an opportunity to behave inappropriately. The Students’ Union has a zero tolerance approach to conduct that could legitimately be perceived by its recipients as:
    • Cyber Bullying/Stalking
    • Trolling / Online Impersonation
    • Excluding
    • Sexual harassment
    • Discriminatory comments and behaviour
    • Abuse and unwanted attention
    • Threatening or violent behaviour or language
11. Any inappropriate behaviour will be treated seriously and could have repercussions not only for someone’s candidacy in the election, but could also potentially result in a university disciplinary investigation or a uea(SU) code of conduct investigation. Remember, candidates are also responsible for the actions of their supporters when campaigning on their behalf.
12. If you are concerned about the conduct of a candidate or one of their supporters, email the Deputy Returning Officer Claire Boothby-Barnbrook, with Election Complaint as the email subject, detailing the allegation(s), the rules broken and any evidence. See How to Make a Complaint below for details of deadlines.
13. For further guidance about safe online activity, click here.

1. Campaign expenditure is defined as expenditure in pursuit of promoting a candidature and can be further defined from time to time by the returning officer.

2. Candidates in all elections have a maximum amount (£40 for Full-Time Officer elections and £25 for Part-Time and NUS Delegates) they can spend on their campaigns once the nomination has been confirmed, which can be reimbursed by the Union upon production of receipts. All expenditure must be accounted for on a form we will provide. Candidates are required to produce receipts of their expenditure by the relevant deadline otherwise they will not have their expenses reimbursed and they may risk being disqualified.

3. Any expenditure must be both that which all candidates have had the opportunity to carry out, and that which is replicable by all other candidates in a given election.

4. “Labour Costs” are not counted. Hire, materials production and materials or distribution of consumables are counted.

5. Paid advertising is acceptable, for example, paying to boost Facebook posts, and must be recorded and reported in the same way as any other campaign expenditure.

6. Where there is a question as to the extent to which it is reasonable to believe that the use of a tactic or resource was open to all, the deputy returning officer’s decision is final and so advice should be sought first.

Campaigning & Expenditure Principle 1: Reasonable

In determining whether the use of a resource needs to be charged to campaign expenditure, the Returning Officer will use the “reasonable” test. For example, it is reasonable to assume all candidates own a mobile phone, thus the use of your phone for social media activity does not need to be accounted for. It is not reasonable to assume all students have a full scale media studio at home. Thus anyone using one as a feature of their campaign would have to account for how much it would cost another candidate to replicate this. If in doubt candidates should consult the Deputy Returning Officer first.

Campaigning & Expenditure Principle 2: Replicable

Actions must be replicable by anyone else in the election. For example, if you tell jokes to students outside the union shop, anyone else could do the same. But if you won a blimp in an ebay auction for 25p it is not likely that someone else could buy a blimp for 25p.

Some Examples:

1. Your father owns a pizza restaurant and gives you 50 £5 vouchers for pizza for free to use as incentives. You would have to declare a cost equivalent to 50 £5 vouchers within your expenditure.
2. You and 3 other candidates share purchasing of advertising space on a student-friendly website and agree a discount with the owner, saving 20% on the normal price. Your cost declared would be the full cost of the advertising space without the discount as it would be difficult for every other candidate to replicate this.
3. You own a pen and write “vote Jimmy” on existing posters. The pen does not count as expenditure as it is reasonable to assume that all students can access a pen.
4. You borrow a blimp and paint on it “vote Jimster”. This is not allowed as it is not reasonable to assume that all students can access a blimp.

Election Rules from the Bye-Laws (Bye-Law 5)

Bye-Law 5: Election Regulations Pursuant to the Articles of Association

These are the rules governing the election of Student Officers, Equal Opportunities Officers, Course Representatives, Union Council Representatives and delegates to the NUS National Conference. Rules governing the election of Student Officers and the NUS National Conference Delegates.

Returning Officer

5.1 The Returning Officer shall be a suitably qualified person external to the University of East Anglia, appointed by the Board of Trustees of the Union of UEA Students and formally approved by the University Registrar. The Returning Officer shall be ultimately responsible for the election.

5.2 The Returning Officer shall monitor the actions of the Deputy Returning Officer, who shall be appointed by the Student Officer Committee and cannot be an ordinary member of the Union, for each election, and will determine any complaint relating to the conduct of the election where appropriate.

5.3 The Returning Officer, and the Deputy Returning Officer, shall undertake any duties necessary to ensure the fair and proper conduct of the elections.

5.4 The Returning Officer shall publish a list of any election rules or interpretations and the timeline for each election in advance of the election taking place having taken advice from the Deputy Returning Officer and the Democratic Procedures Committee.

5.5 The Returning Officer has executive responsibility for interrupting the election regulations and other bye-laws which may impact on the election. They will not normally have “day-to-day” interaction with candidates however retain powers to intervene in the election alongside acting as the final route of appeal for candidates.

5.6 The Deputy Returning Officer will have the delegated powers from the Returning Officer to issue rulings and warning to those taking part in the election in relation to the election regulations and other bye-laws.

5.7 The Deputy Returning Officer shall be responsible for ensuring there is support and guidance provided to candidates and potential candidates wishing to take part in the elections. The details of this support and guidance should be advertised in advance of the election period.

5.8 During the course of the election period additional support may be called on to ensure elections are well run and administered correctly. The Returning Officer and Deputy Returning Officer have the discretion to introduce other election officials to provide this.

Principles of a Union of UEA Students Election and Rules

5.9 All elections taking place at the Union of UEA Students shall be: fair and open, democratic, accessible and transparent.

5.10 A timetable for the election period will be set out by the Deputy Returning Officer, on advice from the Student Officer Committee and Democratic Procedures Committee and made available to members in advance of the election period. All voting figures will be published in good time after the election closes.

5.11 The Returning Officer and the Deputy Returning Officer will publish election campaigning rules, on advice from the Student Officer Committee and Democratic Procedures Committee, that adhere to these principles in advance of the close of nominations for an election.

5.12 It is the role of the Returning Officer, and Deputy Returning Officer, to ensure these principles and the subsequently adopted rules are upheld. Where it is felt that these adopted rules are not being upheld by a candidate the Returning Officer, on advice from their Deputy, make take the following action:

• 5.12.1 the disqualification of a candidate or candidates from the election;
• 5.12.2 that promotional materials (including but not limited to posters, flyers and online materials) contravening the regulations be removed;
• 5.12.3 that publicity be displayed at any fixed Union polling stations and online giving details of an infringement;
• 5.12.4 order a re-election, starting the election process at any stage;
• 5.12.5 order a re-vote, which shall mean all the election stages which follow completion of nominations, and shall not include the reopening of nominations;
• 5.12.6 order the non-payment of a campaign expenses claim;

5.12.7 Student Officers are prohibited from endorsing electoral candidates. ‘Endorsement’ is defined as showing support for candidates through attempting to persuade or dissuade persons to vote for a candidate. This may be through writing, creating and distributing a candidate’s campaign materials and manifesto.

5.12.8 Student Officers that choose to re-stand for a second term are able to endorse themselves. ‘Self-endorsement’ is defined as showing support for candidates through attempting to persuade or dissuade persons to vote for oneself. This may be through writing, creating and distributing their own campaign materials and manifesto.

5.12.9 Part time officers will have their officer rights suspended for the duration of the election period if they have actively solicited in an endorsement.

5.12.10 Full time officers will be suspended from their role for the duration of the election period if they have actively solicited in an endorsement.

5.12.11 Society and club members may endorse individually but not on the behalf of the entire student group. For example, a president of a club can say you should vote in the election, but cannot say who you should vote for on behalf of the entire club membership.

5.13 The Deputy Returning Officer has the power, devolved from the Returning Officer, to issue warnings to candidates in the election and should set out in these warnings the action which shall follow if they are not heeded which could be any of the above.

5.14 The Deputy Returning Officer has the power, devolved from the Returning Officer, to suspend a candidate from the election pending the outcome of an investigation into an alleged breach of rules. During this period, the candidate is not permitted to actively campaign or discuss publicly the reasons for their suspension.

5.17 These principles and rules will be kept under review to enable and maximise participation in elections and measures to restrict activity of candidates and campaigns to ensure fairness, and to this effect the Deputy Returning Officer will make recommendations in their Annual Report to the Union Council on adaptations.

Standing in the Election and Campaigning

5.18 Members wishing to stand as a candidate in any election will be required to complete and supply to the Deputy Returning Officer all relevant nomination material in advance of the close of nominations.

5.19 Where possible manifestos or their equivalent will be promoted via student media. It is the responsibility of the Deputy Returning Officer to organise this and no individual candidate should attempt to promote themselves in any Union run student media.

5.20 An opportunity will be provided to members to ask questions to the candidates standing in the election. The rules for taking part in this will be developed by the Deputy Returning Officer and made available to candidates in advance of the event.

5.21 Candidates accept any terms and conditions of employment relating to the post at the point of nomination by completing the relevant nomination form.

5.22 Any candidate may withdraw their nomination by informing the Deputy Returning Officer and the Returning Officer, in writing, at any point.

5.23 Whereas candidates may well adopt similar policy stances and use similar publicity materials to other candidates, no candidate’s publicity will be permitted to promote another candidate, in the same or other election.

5.24 Should any member have objections regarding the eligibility of any candidates these should be made in writing to the Deputy Returning Officer in advance of the voting period opening.

The Ballot Paper

5.25 In any election where there are any nominations the ballot paper shall include the statement "Re-open Nominations" (RON). RON will be treated like any other candidate and as such will have a campaign budget equal to the other candidates, will have their votes counted in the same manner and will fall under the same disciplinary actions as the other candidates. If at any stage of the count RON candidate gains the required number of votes to be elected, it shall be deemed to have been elected and any surplus and any further votes, transferred to a further RON candidate. This stage shall be repeated as often as required. The returning officer shall declare unfilled the number of vacancies equal to the number of ‘re-open nominations’ candidates deemed to have been elected, if any.

Voting

5.26 The voting system used will be the Single Transferable Vote.

5.27 Candidates and their representatives shall not attempt to bully or intimidate a member into voting for a particular candidate or preference. As such, they must not approach any member who in the process of casting their vote.

Complaints and Results

5.28 Any complaint on the conduct of the election or of any violation of these Regulations must be made in writing to the Deputy Returning Officer prior to the count, except where the complaint relates to the conduct of the count itself. If the complainant is dissatisfied with the resolution of the Deputy Returning Officer, or the Deputy Returning Officer is the subject of the complaint, the complainant may make the complaint in writing to the Returning Officer whose ruling shall be final.

5.29 All election results shall be reported, by the Deputy Returning Officer to the next meeting of Union Council.

The Count

5.30 The count shall be supervised by the Returning Officer or their nominee

5.31 The Count should be conducted in accordance with rules outlined by the Electoral Reform Society for running elections by Single Transferable Vote.

5.32 Complaints about the count must be made in writing to the Returning Officer no later than one working day after the announcement of the result.

5.33 The results of the election will only come into effect once the Returning Officer has certified that the result is the accurate outcome of a free and fair democratic procedure.

5.34 A count shall only commence once all complaints and appeals about campaigners have been resolved.

5.35 The count should commence only after the Deputy Returning Officer is satisfied that all complaints relating to the conduct and administration of the election have been resolved.

How to make a complaint

1. Complaints about the conduct of Candidates and their Campaigners must be sent to the Deputy Returning Officer Claire Boothby-Barnbrook, with Election Complaint as the email subject, detailing the allegation(s), the rules broken and any evidence.
2. All complaints regarding the conduct of Candidates and their Campaigners must be received within an hour of the close of polling on Thurs 24th Feb (12:00).
3. All complaints must be resolved to the satisfaction of the Returning Officer before the count can commence.
4. For any further information, please contact Esin D'Amery at [email protected]