What is an Election Campaign?

Created by Eleanor Addison, Modified on Thu, 8 Jan at 2:21 PM by Tom Morrissey

A Swansea University SU (Student Union) election campaign is the organised efforts made by students to run for various positions within the Student Union at Swansea University.

The elections for SU positions are held annually and there are various roles that students can run for. There are 6 full-time officer roles with a salary over £23,000, they include:

President
Education Officer
Sports Officer
Societies and Services Officer
Welfare Officer
Welsh Affairs Officer

These positions shape the future of the Union and University, and they're great for students graduating this year or anyone who wants to take a year out from their studies.

There are also 10 part-time officer positions available, these are voluntary and come with lots of benefits and opportunities (and it looks great on your CV). These positions are fulfilled alongside your studies. The part-time officer roles include:

Women’s Officer
Race Inclusion Officer
Environment and Ethics Officer
International Officer
Students with Disabilities Officer
LGBT+ Officer
Trans and Non-Binary Awareness Officer
General Secretary
Postgraduate Officer
Atypical Experience Officer

A typical Swansea University election campaign involves:

1) Nomination: Students interested in running for a position in the student union would need to nominate themselves by submitting an application and a manifesto on the SU website. A manifesto is a document that outlines why people should vote for you.

2) Campaigning: Once nominated, candidates can start campaigning to encourage others to vote for them. There are two types of campaigning: Soft and Active.

Soft Campaigning is the preparation period. This is when you might get a campaign team together, make a Facebook page, set up Twitter accounts, make videos etc. Basically, you can tell people you are standing for your position, but you can’t tell people to vote for you or give them reasons that would encourage them to vote for you. No materials with your manifesto on, no videos online, no posters up. You can start soft campaigning from 21:00 Tuesday 19th February 2026.

Active Campaigning is going out and getting people to vote for you. Materials are allowed to go online, posters and banners are allowed to go on display, lecture shout outs are allowed! You can start active campaigning from 9:00 Wednesday 4th March 2026.

Where can I campaign? You can campaign anywhere on any of our campuses, and within the city where students may be. You can’t campaign in a few places, such as in computer rooms and the library, in Union owned retail outlets, or anywhere that you might cause a nuisance. Always ask permission of the elections team, venue owners and general managers where appropriate.
Is there funding? Each candidate has a budget to adhere to. This is to ensure fairness. Full-time officer candidates can spend up to £75 on their campaign. Part-time officer candidates can spend up to £30 on their campaign. Candidates will be refunded up to these totals, provided that receipts are shown to the elections team at the end of the campaigning period.
How do I campaign for students’ votes? How you campaign for students’ votes is entirely up to you (providing it is within your budget, positive, legal and within the Election rules). There’s no right way to campaign, but you’ll need to appeal to a large number of students, so a combination of these ideas will work best. We’ll provide more information at candidate briefing but here are some ways that you may choose to campaign:
- Going out and talking to students
- Running a social media campaign
- Getting creative and creating a song about Swansea
- Doing lecture shout outs
- Speaking at club and society events
- Wearing fancy dress
- Build a campaign team
- Creating posters and flyers

3) Quiz the Candidate: During campaigning a session will be held to quiz the candidates running, it is an essential part of candidates' campaign. It is an event where candidates can debate issues affecting students. Questions for the candidates can be submitted by students.

4) Voting: At the end of the campaign period, students would have the opportunity to vote for their preferred candidates online.

5) Results: After the voting period ends, the votes are counted, and the candidates with the most votes for each position are declared winners. They then take on their roles within the student union for the upcoming term.

Overall, a Swansea University SU election campaign is a significant event that allows students to actively participate in the governance of their university and have a say in choosing the individuals who will represent their interests within the student union. It can be a very rewarding experience for those who get involved.