What are the Students' Association Elections?
The Students’ Association Elections are our yearly election process where you vote in your elected officers.
The Students’ Association touches every part of your student experience, from events and activities, clubs and societies, diversity and inclusion, academic issues, housing, and so much more. Your elected officers run campaigns and represent you to the University and to other external groups, and many of them allocate the funding that support various elements of campus life.
The Elections are your chance to decide who speaks for you on huge topics like extensions for your coursework, new halls that the Uni is building, or how much support students get for mental health – just to name a few! Any student can vote and anyone can run for a position.
Students will have the opportunity to nominate and vote for their favourite chairties to donate to during the 2026-27 academic year. More information to come.
Candidate support
The Elections Team wants to ensure that running as an Elected Officer is a fun, meaningful experience no matter the result. We’ve developed a few resources to help navigate the Election process.
If you’re considering running, but need more information or just want to talk to someone impartial, you can email us at [email protected] and we’ll help you out 1:1!
Please email us with a prefered date and time, and a brief description of your inquiry to set up a 1:1 appointment.
Rules and by laws
All candidates and campaign teams are required to read and be familiar with the current Election Rules and Bylaws on this page. These were last updated on February 2026.
The rules are interpreted and updated by the Deputy Returning Officer regularly during the elections period. Changes will be posted below for clarity, and all candidates will be informed of any new interpretations or changes as deemed relevant.
Candidates should check this page and their email addresses for changes.
The Elections are officially overseen by an external Returning Officer, as well as the Deputy Returning Officer (who is the CEO of the Students' Association).
Can I print posters or hand out physical materials?
Yes. Candidates are allowed to print and hand out materials; printed materials must be accounted for in the candidate budget.
Can I create my social media before campaigning begins?
If it can be kept private, yes. For example, unpublished Facebook pages and private YouTube videos are fine, since no one else can see them. Twitter and Instagram accounts cannot be made completely hidden, so we ask that candidates only create these pages once campaigning begins.
Can a candidate support another candidate?
Anyone can support any candidate from their personal accounts. However, a campaign page cannot support another candidate. Candidates may not campaign as a slate.
Candidates are not permitted to engage in collaboratively campaigning under a single banner/ joint campaign in our elections. Whilst candidates may agree on policies, their campaigning should only discuss the policy and not the fact it is a joint policy with anyone in particular.
Specifically, candidates may not: Refer to other candidates who share their policies in publicity; Host campaigning events showcasing multiple candidates (eg. Pub Meetup with candidates X + Y) unless approves by the Elections Committee in advance. (Candidate meet-ups may be approved if ALL candidates for a position are in attendance and have equal access to campaign, e.g. a “meet the candidates” event)
Candidates may: Share policies, and share similar wording of those policies.
Who can be on my campaign team?
Only ordinary members of the Students’ Association are allowed to campaign for any candidate. (All matriculated students are automatically ordinary members unless they have opted out.)
Staff at both the Union and the University of St Andrews are not allowed to campaign. Students who also work for the Union or University can campaign only when off duty.
No subcommittees or Societies of the Students’ Association may endorse any candidate using any official website, social media page, mailing list, or general meeting. Sports Clubs in the Athletic Union are also prohibited from making endorsements.