Tuesday 20-02-2024 - 12:29

Nominations for our 2024 Elections close on Thursday! If you’ve nominated yourself for a role then you’ve got an exciting time ahead of you – with Candidate Academy starting on 26 February, and Vote Week beginning on 4 March. You're one step closer to being one of our elected representatives!

You might have a few questions on how to prepare for being a candidate, so we’ve got you covered!

What roles are available?📣

If you’re interested in running in this year’s SU Elections and are wondering what roles are available – you can take a look right here 👀

If you're someone who loves chatting with course-mates about what could be improved on your course, why not run to be a Course Rep? Are you someone who would enjoy community organising and collaborating with the SU on campaigns such as LGBTQ+ History Month, then why not run to be a paid Full Time Officer?

What's on offer for SU Election Candidates?✉

So, what’s on offer for our candidates?

• End of Election Celebration Night
• A Candidate Campaign Kit (including a banner, cardboard, and various craft materials).
• Graffiti Campaign Banner-making workshop
• Marketing Support and Guidance
• Candidate Breakfasts during Vote Week
• Hot Drinks at Candidate Academy Sessions
• Exclusive Series of Candidate Academic Sessions 
• Budget for Specific Candidate Expenses

Are there any time commitments?⏰

You’ll need to attend our Rules Briefing on Sunday 25 February 2024 from 13:00-16:00. This is a compulsory session and you won’t be able to run in the election if you miss it. But, why would you want to miss it? We’ll have a professional photographer come in towards the end of the sessions so you will have a chance to have your very own headshot taken.

What is currently planned for Candidates to help them prepare?⌛

To help you be the best FTO candidate you can be, we’ve got loads on offer – from a candidate campaign kit to get your name out there to a graffiti workshop (and there’s nothing that screams Bristol more than that). And, throughout every moment of your candidate journey, SU staff will be on hand to support you and answer any questions you might have.

The week before Vote Week, we'll be holding Candidate Academy – five days of important sessions, which will be vital in finding out what you can do as a candidate and how you can gain voter support. You can find out what's planned for you right here:

You'll start with 'What do Bristol Students care about?' as knowing this is key to building your manifesto! As part of this, our insight team will give you exclusive access to the results of our recent research and data and some wider higher education sector news.

Next up, you'll be 'Building your Elections Brand' with support from our marketing team who will run you through your best to use branding, design and social media to engage voters and build hype around your campaign.

By 'Developing your Manifesto/personal Statement' you'll be able to tell voters exactly what you care about and will do if you're elected into the role. You can make edits to your manifesto until Thursday 29 February!

We've got an external artist coming to our 'Graffiti Workshop' to help candidates create their campaign materials. They will be supplying paints (which you don't need to claim for candidate expenses) so bring along your free banner material, as well as any extra t-shirts or materials and get creative!

At the end of the week, you'll get an in-depth opportunity to ask any questions you might have about being a FTO, with some insight and advice from current FTO members and our Liberation and Campaigns team here at the SU.

What support is there for candidates?👋

Getting an extension

If you are running for a Full-Time Officer role and have a coursework deadline in the week of the elections, then this will normally be deemed an acceptable reason for a short extension of up to seven days. Please liaise with your school in advance about this and you can fill out the form here: request a coursework extension.

1-2-1 calls with Bristol SU staff

If you have any questions at all about elections, our knowledgeable team are here to help you with anything, whether it is asking ‘What is a full-time officer?’ or ‘How can this help me with my future career plans?’. Please let us know your name and some more details about your questions here and find a slot to have a call that works for you here.

You can also always email us at bristolsu-elections@bristol.ac.uk with any questions.

What is a manifesto?📝

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. We will need a 300-word manifesto from you, as well as a 50-word summary.

When can you start campaigning?✨

Voting week runs from 4 March to 7 March and this is when you can officially start campaigning. We recommend going out there, showing your face and chatting with as many students in person as you can. As an FTO you'll be giving student voices a platform, campaigning for student rights and making positive changes to student life. Telling them what you hope to do will increase your chances of gaining their vote and winning the election.

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.

Even though you can’t officially start campaigning until Monday 4 March and once you’ve attended a rule briefing, you can start getting your campaign team together, planning out your strategy and making your material - you can spend £65 maximum.