Nominations for University of Portsmouth Students' Union 2024/25 Elections are now closed

Voting opens 9am Monday 19th February!

What are the Student Elections?

Be honest with yourself - Do you know what Elections are or what an Elected Officer does? You may already know quite a lot, or you might know nothing at all but either way, we expect that you have questions. Not everything you hear or think you know is always right so let’s find out more!

The Student Elections is the democratic process where students (that's you!) vote for the people that will help run The Union and represent the student body for the coming year.

Any student studying a course at the University of Portsmouth can run in the elections including postgraduate, international and part-time students. Any Elected Officer will be expected to uphold the Students’ Union values and fairly represent the whole student body. 

Key Dates

Which roles are up for grabs?

Democracy & Campaigns | Here to be an activist and champion for UoP, local and national campaigns that affect students. As well as making sure the Union is truly democratic.

Development | Here to make sure your social life thrives at Uni – whether that’s getting the right funding for your favourite groups and societies, tackling the cost of living, or making sure your Union is one of the best in the country.

Welfare | Here for your health and happiness at Portsmouth. They’re focused on making sure students have access to any help and support they might need whilst at University.

Academic Representation | Here as the primary representative for ensuring that UPSU provides, facilitates and undertakes the effective Academic Representation of students in partnership with the University, through schemes like the Course Rep system.

Learning Experience | Here to make sure you are getting the most you can from your learning experience and ensuring the University are listening and acting on student feedback.


More information about the Elected Officer roles including job descriptions can be found on the nomination pages.

You can also keep up to date with what the Officer team are up to on Instagram @upsuofficers 

What have Officers actually changed?

Officers really are incredible! They achieve so much for you and your fellow students. Somethings you may not have even realised came from Officer manifestos and lobbying.

Just some of the things achieved for students, by previous Officers:

Jargon Buster

Frequently Asked Questions

When can I vote?

Voting opens at 9am on Monday 19th February and close at 1pm Thursday 22nd February. You will be able to vote here when voting opens, you'll need to login with your University login to the Union website to vote. Or if you are an on-campus student, then you can also find a polling station on campus.

Where are the polling stations on campus

We will have a few polling stations across campus this year as well as some roaming stations (keep an eye out for UPSU staff with "Vote Here" flag backpacks).

What if I have multiple candidates that I like running for the same position?

We use a system called single transferable vote. 


It's a much fairer way of voting and means voters get a bit more of a say, by ranking candidates from most to least favourable. So if your top pick doesn’t win, there’s a really good chance someone else you like will get in and no voting power is wasted. 


You can learn about the voting system here.

What is transferable voting?

You can learn about the transerable voting system here.

Can I vote if I'm an International Student?

Yes, so long as your course is awarded a University of Portsmouth Award at the end of your studies, you are eligible to vote, regardless of whether you are part-time, distance learners, postgrads or international students.

If you are not sure if you are eligible to vote then don't worry, the system will not allow you to vote if you are not eligible. So if it lets you vote, then yay, you're eligible!

If the system is not allowing you to vote and you believe you should be eligble, then please contact elections@upsu.net 

Can I vote if I'm a Postgraduate/Masters/PhD Student?

Yes, so long as your course is awarded a University of Portsmouth Award at the end of your studies, you are eligible to vote, regardless of whether you are part-time, distance learners, postgrads or international students.

If you are not sure if you are eligible to vote then don't worry, the system will not allow you to vote if you are not eligible. So if it lets you vote, then yay, you're eligible!

If the system is not allowing you to vote and you believe you should be eligble, then please contact elections@upsu.net 

Can I vote if I'm a distant learner?

Yes, so long as your course is awarded a University of Portsmouth Award at the end of your studies, you are eligible to vote, regardless of whether you are part-time, distance learners, postgrads or international students.

If you are not sure if you are eligible to vote then don't worry, the system will not allow you to vote if you are not eligible. So if it lets you vote, then yay, you're eligible!

If the system is not allowing you to vote and you believe you should be eligble, then please contact elections@upsu.net 

Isn't it just a popularity contest?

Nope. Previous Elected Officers have come from all walks of University life – what unites them is their desire to improve the Portsmouth student experience. As long as you have great ideas and a passion for creating change, you’ll make a great candidate.

How are the votes counted?

We use a system called single transferable vote. It's a much fairer way of voting and means voters get a bit more of a say, by ranking candidates from most to least favourable. So if your top pick doesn’t win, there’s a really good chance someone else you like will get in and no voting power is wasted. 


Our Elections system on our website automatically calculates the votes at the end of the voting period, when appropriate UPSU staff then note these results and get them confirmed by our Deputy Returning Officer and Returning Officer.

Can I attend results night if I'm not a candidate or on a campaign team?

Of course! In fact we encourage any student that would like to attend, to come along! Come and celebrate being the democratic legend you are from using your vote and see if your favourites win on the night! Information about Results Night will be on our What's On page.

Still got questions? Send them over to us at elections@upsu.net and we'll get back to you asap! 

Or pop in to the Union reception to chat to a member of staff.