about the elections

7th & 8th March, 2013

Like a job interview, but with balloons.

Student elections in St Andrews are amongst the most lively and exciting than anywhere else in the UK. We have one of the highest election turnouts, and the atmosphere on election day is amazing.

Once you've made the decision you want to run - whether that's for President of the Students' Association, the head of STAR radio, or SRC Member for Widening Access - here's what you need to do next....

1. Register as a candidate

Nominations will open from the 25th Feb 2012. You will be able to register as a candidate here.

2. Prepare your campaign

Once you've registered as a candidate you can start thinking about how you're going to run your election campaign, and persuade the student body that you're the best person for the job.

Many candidates like to get a group of people together to help then campaign - the most important thing to remember is that elections are fun! It's a great opportunity to be creative - whether that's making exciting posters, using social media, or just chatting to new people. You can also appoint a 'Campaign Manager' to help you run your campaign.

You should also think about the reasons you're running for the position you've chosen and what you'd like to do with it if you win. Now write those reasons down as succinctly as possible. You should use these core messages in your publicity and make sure that everyone helping you campaign knows what you want to achieve in the position, and why you want to run for it.

ELECTION RULES CAN BE DOWNLOADED BY CLICKING HERE:

All AU candidates must have the saints-sport logo on their publicity - email publicity@saints-sport.com to get an electronic version. 

All your publicity needs to be approved (including banners), and deducted from your budget, BEFORE it can be displayed - come along to the elections office(opening times TBA)

If you have any questions, aren't quite sure if something exciting you want to do is 'allowed', or are worried you don't have enough money to cover your candidate budget, come and chat to the Elections Team, or alternatively email saelect@st-andrews.ac.uk.

3. Hecklings and candidate debates

The candidates meeting will be held at 6pm on Friday 1st March in Venue One. This will be the opportunity to ask any questions about the week ahead, collect any publicity you may have ordered, and meet your opposing candidates! As soon as this meeting ends, you can start campaigning.

Hecklings, or 'hustings', will be arranged during election week. Hecklings are your chance to prove yourself and articulate the ideas you have for the year ahead. The atmosphere will be fairly laid back so don't be intimidated by the idea of public speaking - in most cases, the important thing is what you say, not how you say it. There will also be a Sabbatical Candidates Debate during the week.

4. Vote - Friday 7th & 8th March 2012

This year we will be piloting online voting. You will be able to cast your vote from any computer  connected to the internet from 6AM on Thursday the 7th March through to 6PM on Friday the 8th March.  

Remember, while voting may be online this year, it doesn't mean that the polling stations won't be great places to campaign. They've been chosen as places that have lots of passers by, and you never know if that person strolling past might cast the deciding vote! Election day itself is always a bit crazy - and as a candidate it can be stressful. The most important thing to remember is to have fun with it! Chat to other candidates, sing songs, give out cakes and stickers and generally contribute to the usual party atmosphere after a long week of campaigning!

5. Announcing the results

After voting has closed, the Elections Team will take a few hours to decide on any last minute complaints or issues which have arisen. Results will be announced between 9AM to 10.30PM in Venue One just before the nights bop! Speaking of results, we'll announce them in Venue One, broadcast them on STAR and post them live to this website and to twitter.

Confused? Questions?

Talk to us. You can either email us on saelect@st-andrews.ac.uk, or come into the elections office for a chat.

The Elections Office will be in the union for you to come along and ask any questions to our elections team, report any issues or rule breakings, sort out your publicity and get it checked and stamped, or generally ask for any support or advice on elections. Opening times are TBA, but they will be open most of time during the working day for election week.