Rules, Bye-laws & Guidance

Elections Rules

We’ll cover the rules in more detail at the Candidates Briefing (attendance is compulsory for all candidates), but please carefully read the information on this page, so you know what the rules are and don’t end up breaking them by accident.

If you break the rules, it may have serious consequences like a temporary campaigning ban, or even disqualification from the election. If you are unsure about anything please check, we’re always happy to answer questions and provide clarifications – just email us on su-elections@qmul.ac.uk.

Here’s a summary of the main things you need to know:

• All candidates must follow the elections rules, must behave in a respectful manner during all stages of the elections, and must not do anything that could undermine the free, fair and democratic running of the elections.
• All legal means of campaigning are allowed (including on-campus campaigning, social media and other forms of online campaigning), unless stated otherwise in the Students’ Union’s bye-laws, the Candidates Hub, QMUL’s rules for student conduct, or in rulings issued by the Returning Officer or their deputy.
• All the rules set by QMUL and the Students’ Union and any relevant legislation also apply during the elections and cover all your campaigning activities and promotional materials. For example, you must not damage property by placing any stickers, glue or sello tape on furniture or buildings (always use blu-tack) or covering any signage with your promotional materials. Another example is health and safety rules – for example, you must not block any fire exits.
• You must not campaign in a way that brings the Students’ Union into disrepute with students, the university or any external body.
• You are permitted to start your campaign after the Candidates Briefing. You must not buy any campaigning materials, or undertake any forms of free campaigning (including social media posts) before the Candidates Briefing.
• You are required to attend the Candidates Briefing. If you’re unable to attend the in-person briefing, you’ll be required to complete an online briefing to remain a candidate in the election.
• You are welcome to have a group of supporters to help you with your campaign, but these must be full members of the Students’ Union (so that means they must be current QM students). Your supporters can’t be staff members, family or friends outside QM.
• If you have any supporters helping you with your campaign, it’s your responsibility to tell them about the election rules (it might be a good idea to get them to read this page), and it may have consequences for you if your supporters break the elections rules (even if you were unaware, or didn’t instruct them to break the rules).
• You must not campaign in the libraries, labs (including computer labs) or any other space that a staff member has instructed you to not campaign in. You must not block any doors or access ways.
• Student staff members employed by the Students’ Union (for example, students that work in Ground or Qmotion) and Students’ Union Executive Officers must not campaign during working hours, and must not use any resources provided by the Students’ Union (such as uniforms, access to printing or mailing lists) for the purpose of campaigning.
• Student groups that are part of the Students’ Union (such as societies and sports clubs) cannot endorse candidates or groups of candidates. This includes, but is not limited to, a student group using their grants or subs account to support candidates’ activities, or endorsing candidate(s) through their mailing list or social media accounts. For further information about student group endorsements, please refer to the section below.
• During voting, you must not be present when a student is voting. If a student is using their phone, laptop or another device to vote, you must step away from them and allow them to cast their votes without you guiding them or looking at their votes. There’ll be an exclusion zone around polling stations, and you must not undertake any campaigning activities in the exclusion zone.
• You must not exceed the allocated candidate budget. Not even if you are willing to pay more out of your own money. You must keep all receipts and be prepared to submit these on request. For further information about the candidate budget, please refer to the Campaigning page.
• You must not use any electronic sound equipment such as loudspeakers or loud hailers when campaigning.
• You must not hold prize draws or use giveaways (regardless of whether these items are pre-owned, donated or purchased for the purpose of elections) to incentivise voting in general, or incentivise votes for a specific candidate. Giveaways of items of negligible value (such as sweets) is permitted, as long as these items are not given away in exchange for votes.
• You must not remove, damage or change promotional materials belonging to other elections candidates (for example, you must not draw on their materials or cause damage to their materials).

Read the election bye-laws