Key Links
Essential Information
- Elections for signatory positions for all Clubs and Societies will be conducted online via the Union website.
- The elections process will include a nominations period (7 – 11 April), a deadline for candidates to submit candidate information for the voting page (14 April), and a voting period (14 – 16 April).
- Eligible students can nominate themselves, upload candidate information, and cast their vote in elections via the Elections Portal (Please note this link will not go live until 7 April).
- Students will only be eligible to run/vote in elections for clubs and societies to which they have a membership by 31 March.
- Eligible students will be able to run for one signatory position per club/society to which they have a current valid membership.
- The voting system will be STV (single transferrable vote), allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference.
- Only one vote and one candidate per each signatory position will be required to make the election valid.
- Clubs and societies will need to successfully elect all three of their signatory positions in order to remain active next year.
Elections Timeline
| Date/Time | Election Event | Notes |
| 31 March 17:00 | Electoral Roll closes – deadline for students to purchase memberships | Any student wishing to run or vote in the elections must have an official membership on the Union website by this date and time to ensure they are on the electoral roll and eligible to run/vote in the election. |
| 31 March 17:00 | Deadline to onboard all Clubs & Societies to the Union portal | All active, onboarded Clubs and Societies will have their elections arranged for them by the Union. Clubs and Societies who have not onboarded to the new Union website by this date will not be able to run an election and will be dormant from May onwards. |
| 7 April 09:00 | Nominations open | Eligible students will be able to submit nominations to become a candidate for signatory positions via the Elections Portal. (Please note this link will not go live until 7 April). |
| 11 April 17:00 | Nominations close | Deadline for students to submit nominations. |
| 14 April 08:00 | Candidate Portal closes | Deadline for candidates for to submit candidate information to inform voters via the Elections Portal. (Please note this link will not go live until 7 April). |
| 14 April 09:00 | Voting opens | Voting in all Club/Society elections opens via the Elections Portal. (Please note this link will not go live until 7 April). |
| 16 April 17:00 | Voting closes | Voting in all Club/Society elections closes. |
| 16 April evening | Results published | Results will be counted and published once voting has closed. |
Elections Process
Elections for signatory positions for all Clubs and Societies will be conducted online via the Union website via the Elections Portal (please note this link will not go live until 7 April), following the above elections timeline. The need to book, run, and report on the outcomes of AGMs has been removed as no meetings will be required in the new process.
The new process will include a nominations period (7 – 11 April), a deadline for candidates to submit their information to be displayed on the voting page (14 April), and a voting period (14 – 16 April). Results will be published online following the close of voting once the count for all elections has been completed on 16 April. This process will be the only way to elect your signatories for the next academic year.
There will be a deadline ahead of the elections period for the close of the electoral roll. The electoral roll is the list of all students who are eligible to run/vote in these elections. The electoral roll will be comprised of all students who have a current valid official membership on the Union website by the cut off date of 31 March. Students will only be eligible to run/vote in elections for clubs and societies to which they have a membership by 31 March.
There will also be a deadline on 31 March for clubs and societies to complete the onboarding process to ensure they have submitted the required information for us to be able to facilitate their election. All active, onboarded groups will have their election automatically arranged and will not need to book or request an election. Any groups who do not complete this step and submit the required information to be onboarded by 31 March will not have an election arranged for them and will therefore enter dormancy in May on the committee handover date.
Eligible students will be able to run for one signatory position per club/society to which they have a current valid official membership on the Union website. Students can therefore run for a signatory position in more than one club/society, however they will be limited to only running for one signatory position per group.
Information for Current Signatories/Committees
We strongly suggest all current signatories and committee members read over the essential documents: Guidance and FAQs, the Election Rules, and the New Process Benefits document. Other important reminders :
- All active, onboarded groups will have their election automatically arranged. Any groups who have not submitted the required information to be onboarded to the new Union website by 31 March will not have an election arranged for them and will therefore enter dormancy in May on the committee handover date.
- It is the responsibility of current signatories to promote the election to your members, including ensuring that students who wish to vote/run in the election have purchased official memberships on the Union website. You can check your current members via your Signatories Panel.
- Only one vote and one candidate per each signatory position will be required to make the election valid, however you must successfully elect all three signatory positions in order to remain active next year.
Information for Candidates and voters
What is needed to be eligible to stand for election or vote? – Students will only be eligible to run/vote in elections for clubs and societies to which they have a current valid official membership on the Union website by 31 March. You must also be a Surrey student who will be continuing your studies/research at Surrey next year.
What are the rules of the elections? – There is a separate document which sets out the rules and principles of the election.
What candidate information will candidates be able to submit? – Candidates will be able to submit a preferred name, photo, and a short explanation of why students should vote for them via our Elections Portal before the deadline on 14 April. This will be shown to voters on their voting pages. Candidates can submit different information for each of the signatory positions they nominate themselves for, tailored to the relevant group.
How does STV work? – STV voting ensures that winning candidates have a broad base of support from voters by allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference. Winning candidates will be successful due to a high number of higher preference votes, eg. first or second place votes. Candidates with consistently low levels of support across the pool of voters will not be elected as they will be less likely to win higher preference votes. In STV, fewer votes are “wasted”. If a voter’s first preference candidate does not have enough first place votes to win outright, a voter may still see a candidate they have ranked highly be elected and may therefore be more satisfied with the results of the election.
What happens in the event of a tie for a position? – Under STV, tiebreaks are decided at random by coin toss. This is the widely recognised way to determine tiebreaks and this will be used in Club & Society elections.
When will the results be made available? – We intend to publish the results of all club and society elections in the evening of 16 April. The exact timing will depend on how long it takes to count all the elections, so we are not releasing an exact time at this stage.
Any Questions?
If you have any questions about the elections process from a democratic standpoint, please contact hannah.jones@surrey.ac.uk. If you have any questions about handover, memberships, or other club and society-related questions, please contact jodie.varma@surrey.ac.uk. If you have any questions about the Union website, club/society portal, or the elections platform itself, please contact sam.hallam@surrey.ac.uk.
