Voting Guide: October 2022
How to Vote
Voting opens at 9am on Tuesday 11 October and closes at 9pm on Thursday 13 October.
Here's a step-by-step guide on how to vote in the Bristol SU Elections, and a few of the phrases you might not be familiar with.
Log on
Log on to the Bristol SU website.
Visit www.bristolsu.org.uk/vote
This is our voting platform. You'll be able to view all of the positions you can vote for, the candidates for each role, and how long you have left until voting closes. You'll also be able to track how many positions you've voted in - make sure to cast a vote in all positions!
Choose the right candidate for you
Select a position to vote for. You'll be able to see the responsibilities of the role and the candidates running. You'll also be able to view the manifesto of each candidate. Read these carefully before making your choice. Once you're confident you know who is right for you, you can click the 'Vote Now' button.
Preferences
You'll be asked to select your candidate in order of preference. Why?
Bristol SU 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 like the sound of more than one candidate, make them your second choice – it could make all the difference when determining the result.
Who is R.O.N?
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. This is why you will see R.O.N listed as a candidate.
If RON wins an election at Bristol SU either the post would not be filled or an election would be held at a time deemed suitable to gain the maximum number of voters.
Make your vote
Once you've placed the candidates in order of your preference, you can hit the Vote Now button.
Repeat!
You will be able to vote for multiple positions, so once you've made a vote for one, remember to go back and vote for the others!
What's in it for me?
The people you are voting for will be representing you and your views to the University for the next year. That’s pretty important, so you might as well vote for a candidate whose policies you agree with.
Top 5 reasons to vote
Need a bit more persuading? Here are 5 reasons…
It only takes 5 minutes
It’s true, it really doesn’t take long to vote. Voting is all done online, so you can do it anywhere!
Get the candidate you want
Students will be elected this year, you might as well use your vote to make it someone you agree with!
Everyone has someone to vote for
If you've ever been to an SU event, joined a society, played a sport, used lecture replay, accessed extenuating circumstances, sought academic advice, or used student discount - your uni experience has been directly impacted by the work of our reps and officers! Every student has something they particularly care about, make sure you use your vote to protect the things you love about being a student, and improve the things you don't!
We’ll stop pestering you
Once you’ve voted for all positions you can, we’ll stop emailing you about it. Simple.
Your vote will make a difference
Vote like your uni experience depends on it! These reps are usually only in post for just one year, as we've seen, one year can change everything! Who you vote for could make a big difference to the rest of your time at university!
Voting is open 11 - 13 October. Vote online at www.bristolsu.org.uk/vote.
