The Rep Elections are being held this week; here is a rundown of what you need to know before casting your vote!
Students will take to the polls to elect a handful of student officers, student trustees, and zone reps. Other roles up for grabs include Union Network reps, and the Hall Community Officers.
Campaigning has already started, posters are being littered around campus and manifestos are up on the Students’ Union website.
What am I voting for?
The officers and reps elected this week will sit on the various zones, which serve as the lower chamber of Union Democracy.
Zones discuss and vote on policies put forward by students in the hope to make change within the Union. Once policies are approved by zones, they go to the Union Executive, who then vote to ratify, or block, the policies in question.
Notable policies in the past have included banning oil and gas sponsorships, classifying period pain as an extenuating circumstance, and zero food waste on campus.
The Union has become increasingly strict on the expectations of their reps through the ‘Ghostbusters’ policy; with winners who do not respond to the Union by the time of their first meeting being removed from the position.
Arguably the most important of the elections this week are for the Student Trustees who are "responsible for overall management and administration of the Students' Union and may exercise all the powers of the Union."
The board of trustees can overturn executive decisions if (say) they risk legal and financial repercussions, or are incompatible with the Union's charitable objectives under the Education Act, however this power is rarely exercised.
How can I vote?
Voting opens online on Monday 19 October at 09:00, and will close on Friday 23 October at 10:00.
The Union uses a transferable vote system, in which students can rank candidates by preference, alternatively if you don’t like any of them - you can always vote to re-open nominations (RON).
Scandals galore
Candidates are expected to comply with the Union’s strict election laws. Those who have failed to comply previously have faced campaigning bans and outright disqualifications.
These rules include removing other hopefuls’ campaign materials, personally attacking other candidates, and campaigning exclusively in languages other than English.
There are also strict budgeting rules, with each candidate having a £60 budget per role they have nominated themself for. Failure to prove a candidate stayed within budget on Friday 23 October will result in removal from the election.
A full list of rules is available on the Student’s Union Website.
One would presume that engaging in electoral misconduct in such a low stakes election would be absurd, but the Linkedin-maxxers of UCL know no bounds and will do whatever it takes to win.
Previous cases of misconduct include but are not exclusive to candidates getting into verbal spats, candidates using AI and switching pronouns and offering students cash and lottery tickets.
Think someone is not abiding to Union policy and breaking election rules? Finding a candidate a little too pushy? Needn't you worry, you can submit an official complaint. [Editors’ note: or provide a tip off to The Cheese Grater?]
When do results come out
Winners of the Rep Elections will be announced at 18:30 on Friday 23 October via the Union Website.
Brace yourself for a week of candidates hounding you for votes, getting overstimulated by posters and - if you’re lucky - some union-funded freebies (bribes).
You can view all candidates and vote here.