Candidate Info

To run in these elections you must:

• Be a registered student of Queen's University Belfast for the current academic year and throughout the entire election period.
• Be sure that you are prepared to commit to the duties of the role if you are elected.
• Be a hard worker, dedicated and passionate about representing students.

Please note that Students of St. Mary's University College, Stranmillis University College, "INTO-Queen's" and students of other institutions who are studying at Queen's may not run or vote in these elections. This candidate info does not apply to the SU Elections held in the spring of each year.

Take a look at the key dates and events below.

Important Dates & Events - October Elections

Important Dates & Events - October Elections - Additional Roles

Completing Your Submission

Complete your Election Profile here by the deadline.

For your nomination to be successful, you must upload:

• Profile Photo: Use a clear, recognisable picture of yourself. It will appear on the online ballot and be visible to voters (we may update this photo later).
• 50-word slogan: Keep it brief—your best chance to convince students on the ballot!
• Manifesto: Share your ideas and plans. It will be published online for all students. See our tips below for writing a great manifesto.
• Printed Promotional Materials (this is only for those standing for a full time role). 

TOP TIPS:

• Give yourself plenty of time to prepare, it can take longer than expected.
• Before the deadline, double-check your submission. Preview your uploads to ensure everything is correct. Remember, it’s your responsibility as a candidate to submit properly.

Elections Overview

Get creative, keep it respectful, have fun and stay within the rules.  This guide will help you build a brilliant campaign to make sure students vote for you. 

Before You Submit Your Nomination

1. Cover the basics: Take time to get an understanding of how the elections work, the rules and key elections dates and events.
2. Understand the Role: Each role has a different level of responsibility and time commitment. Choose one where you talents will be best utilised.
3. Research, Research, Research: It will help give you a clear idea of why students should vote for you.
• Speak to current students, Student Reps, Student Officers and SU Staff. 
• Study past campaigns, manifestos, and results (many social media campaigns and manifestos are still available online)
• Learn the issues affecting your target group
• Find out what elected reps have done in the past and how you can do even better.
4. Don’t miss the deadline!

After You Submit Your Nomination

1. Plan Ahead
• Prepare a 30 – 60 second speech outlining who you, why you are running and what you will do if elected – this will help you when you are speaking to students.
• Get canvassing online: You can start immediately. Most students have never voted in an election – all they need is for you to convince them!
• Take care of yourself: Elections can feel like a lengthy process: Make time for rest, eat well and finish any upcoming academic assessments you have due. Try to give yourself as much free time as you can during the Election days so you can encourage votes.

1. Organise your Campaign:
• Plan, plan, plan: Most successful election candidates win because they have prepared – they know which groups of students they are going to seek votes from and plan what they are going to do for each day of voting. 
• Enlist help from friends so you can focus on speaking to students.
• Keep your key points on hand for quick sharing – you never know when a canvassing opportunity will present itself.
• Anticipate tough questions: There will always be people who challenge your manifesto so prepare as much as possible.
• Consider collaborating with other candidates: you could jointly campaign with those running in different categories to you.

Engaging Voters

1. Engage online and in-person—visibility is key. Personally talking to students is the most important thing you can do to get elected.
• Don’t be afraid to approach students (if they don’t know you, they won’t vote for you)
• Ask students to specifically vote for you. If they cannot commit to giving you a first preference vote, ask for a second preference—every vote matters! 
• Do lecture shout outs: Keep it brief (30–60 seconds) and get the lecturer’s permission. The best time is while the lecturer sets up their slides.
• Reach out to Clubs and Societies: See if they’ll support you or let you speak to members.
• Attend Events: Go to student events and parties to connect with as many people as possible.
• Engage Students in Accommodation: Target first-years who are likely to vote. Agree access with Queen’s Accommodation beforehand. “Queen’s Accommodation” includes Elms BT1, Elms BT2, Elms BT9 and Queen’s Houses.
2. Leverage your networks: Enlist friends, class mates and Clubs and Societies to support you and share with their networks. Get friends and classmates to personally ask people in their network to vote for you.
3. Stay positive, respectful, and approachable (even if you disagree with someone). You want voters to think well of you!
4. Focus on Key Issues: Talk about topics that matter to students to win their support.
5. Get people to commit to vote for you. If you can get lots of students to commit before voting opens, you have made a great start!
6. Most importantly, enjoy the experience! You’ll learn loads, meet new people and have fun.

The Students’ Union aims to be as accessible as possible to students and staff. We are continuously working to make our elections more accessible. We will make all the reasonable adjustments that we can to make our elections and our roles as accessible as possible.

Each case will be different and require a personalised approach. If you have any queries, contact the SU Voice team at the earliest possible opportunity and we can start working on a tailored support package to meet your requirements.

Your manifesto should include the following:

• Why You’re Running: Share your motivation and what inspires you to stand for this role.
  
  
• About You and What You Will Bring To the Role: Introduce yourself briefly, e.g. your course, where you’re from, involvement in Clubs/Societies, and any relevant experience.
  
  
• Your Aims: Clearly outline the changes or initiatives you want to focus on – these will be the points that convince students to vote for you. 
  
  
• Include a Call to Action: End with a strong reminder to vote and how to do so.

You can upload your manifesto as either text or images. 

An effective short text-based manifesto usually contains around three or four key aims, accompanied by a short slogan and a good clear profile picture.

The manifesto, including all graphics and images should not be more than 4 A4 pages in length. It is helpful if you also provide it as an A4-sized series of images or PDF, as it can look more presentable to voters. 

If you provide your manifesto as a series of images, you should add also upload the text as well to ensure that your manifesto can be read by assistive technology tools.

Here are two example showing different approaches:

Image led: Candidate for the position of Students' Union President

Text led: Candidate for the position of Student Officer Welfare

Text led (Faculty Rep): Candidate for the position of Faculty Representative

Be Concise:

• Keep it clear and to the point—students are busy!
• Try not to waste space with obvious statements. (e.g. “It is important that we all get a good education.”)

Use Simple Language:

• Avoid jargon - make it easy to read and accessible to all.

Set Realistic Aims:

• Remember, once you’re in post, it will take time and energy to achieve things.

Make It Visual:

• Use headings, bullet points, or graphics/images to grab attention.