How To Nominate Yourself For Elections

As you’ve probably heard, Election season is well underway. Signups close on February 24th, so we’re definitely in the final stretch. But don’t panic! Or, at least, if you did panic at that, don’t worry! You can still nominate yourself - and we have a handy guide to explain how.

If you’re more of a visual learner, you can check out our latest video explaining all the ins and outs of nomination. If you’re more of a written instructions type, great! Let’s lay out the steps.

1. Log into the UPSU Elections Page using your mobile or device.

Navigate to upsu.net using your device. The first thing you’ll have to do is log in, if you haven’t already. If you’re using a computer, you should see a button labelled “Representation”. (If you’re on a mobile, click the three lines in the top left corner of the screen - the Representation button should appear.) Once you click that, you should see a list of other pages, including one titled “2023 Student Elections - Nominate Yourself Now!” Click that one. It should take you to the Elections page. Click the button that says “Election Information”.

2. Decide what position you want to go for.

Officers generally come in five flavours - Learning Experience, Welfare, Democracy and Campaigns, Student Development, and Academic Representation. (A little more on all that here.) Once you’ve decided which one appeals to you, click the button that says “Nominate Yourself”.

3. Upload a photo of yourself.

There is also an application form, but nothing our crew can’t handle! Once you’ve put in all the relevant information, upload a photo of yourself. This will be used during the voting process, so please use a photograph that you’re comfortable with! It doesn’t have to be passport style, but it will represent you throughout your campaign.

4. Write your epic manifesto.

Probably not too epic. You have exactly 300 words, so it’s a bit more of a “to the point” manifesto. Just lay out the basic points of why you want the position, what you hope to achieve if you are elected, what you want to change, and why people should vote for you. That’s the most important information, so don’t skimp on any of that. Have a think about the nature of your role, and what you want to achieve within that - as we said last time, even something small can make a big difference.

5. Sit back and relax 

….Sort of. Definitely sit back and congratulate yourself on coming this far. We’re all proud of you! Once you submit your nomination, wait for one of the Elections team to reach out to you to discuss further steps. 

(Pssst - one of these further steps will be signing up to a mandatory Candidate Academy session. These are really good for giving you insight into the Elections process, so you’ll be happy you did.

And after that, you definitely deserve a prize. Maybe celebrate yourself with a snack. (And hey, even if you don’t win - you’ve still done something fantastic! We had a chat with Chelsea, from the Student Development team, who can tell you more about that.)

Convinced? Great! Click here to nominate yourself!

Good luck! We’re rooting for you.