From midday on Monday 6th November 2023, prospective candidates can complete the attached form and email it to our returning officer Bradley ([email protected]); this must be done by midday on Monday 20th November 2023. You will need the nominations of 10 Jewish students from at least 5 different JSocs. You will also be required to email photos of the student ID cards of each of your nominators.

Your nomination will not be accepted until both the completed form and the photos of university IDs have been received. 

Campaign materials

Candidates will be required to send the following materials to our returning officer Bradley, by midday Monday 20th November 2023, for the candidate announcement: 

• A manifesto, which could outline your campaign policies or your experience. The manifesto must be a minimum of 100 words and a maximum of 550. If presented in poster format, a plain text manifesto must also be submitted (both must be in PDF format)
• A video, which could introduce you as a candidate or your campaign. This video must have a maximum length of 30 seconds and include subtitles (a recommended website is https://www.kapwing.com/subtitles)
• A photo, in which your face can be clearly seen (to be used for all promotional material).

For examples of previous material click here for 2022-3 candidates or click here for 2021-22 candidates

Campaign rules:

General campaigning rules 

• No campaigning outside of the designated campaigning period  
• No online campaigning on Shabbat
• No negative campaigning against a candidate or any member of their campaign team – this means deliberately spreading negative information about someone or something to worsen the public image of the described 
• No exceeding campaign budget - £100 + travel to 6 campuses (plus debates) 
• You are responsible for the words and actions of your campaign team – their rule breaks will be punishable in the same way 
• You must act in accordance with the Code of Conduct at all times  

Endorsement rules

• No organisational endorsements (including JSocs)  
• Only endorsements from current students are allowed 

Potential consequences

This is the list of the potential consequences for breaking an election rule. It is at the discretion of the Returning Officer to decide which is an appropriate match for the severity of the rule break. 

• Reminder of the rules 
• Written warning 
• Second warning 
• Final warning 
• 12-hour ban from online campaigning 
• 24-hour ban from online campaigning 
• 72-hour ban from online campaigning 
• Removal of candidacy  

Meetings

If successful in this nominations process, candidates will be required to attend 2 meetings:

• With the returning officer. This meeting will detail the code of conduct and election rules. It will be held over video call, and candidates are permitted to invite their campaign managers to the meeting too. This will take place on Monday 20th November 2023 at 5pm.

• With the CEO Arieh Miller, who will meet with each candidate and arrange this meeting around the candidate’s academic commitments. This meeting contains a briefing so that each candidate has the same key information on UJS heading into the election. The meeting will take place at a point between the confirmation of candidacy and the start of voting.

Debates

Successfully nominated candidates will be invited to attend and take part in 3 debates. Where debates are in person, it is recommended that candidates join in person, however if that is not possible for any reason a digital option will be provided. 

In person debates are open to in person attendance for all members of UJS. 

Questions will be taken from the room and online in the question portion of the debates. 

The first will be on Sunday 26th January 2023 - Format and time TBC - this debate will include discussion of UJS and JSocs, peer-leadership, and representation.

The second will be on Tuesday 28th November 2023 - Format and time TBC - this debate will include discussion of campaigning issues, fighting antisemitism, and Israel engagement.

The third will be on Sunday 3rd December 2023 - Format and time TBC - this debate will include discussion of UJS programming, wider developments, and cross-communalism.

Additional Information

We would like to remind prospective candidates at this stage that campaigning is not permitted until 9am on Tuesday 21st November 2023. Please direct any queries or complaints to the returning officer Bradley.

Candidates are reminded that before, during and after this election UJS expects our code of conduct to be followed. Any complaints relating to the election will be dealt with by the returning officer. 

This is an incredibly exciting opportunity and exercise of Jewish students’ democratic rights in their grassroots union. Candidates’ well-being is our priority throughout the election process. Please contact the UJS President or any of the UJS team throughout the election process for impartial welfare support. 

This process has been approved by the returning officer. The election will be held in accordance with the UJS constitution and bye-laws, which can be read here.

Voting

In order to vote, you will have had to register on the UJS website by midday on Tuesday 5th December 2023. All sign-ups to the UJS website must have a JSoc, a valid graduation year and a valid email. Sign-ups will be vetted and checked by the office admin team and may be requested to submit a valid student ID. Only Jewish students are eligible to vote in this election - for more information, find our constitution and bye-laws here. Registered members will receive a voter key via email with a link to vote from Election Buddy - make sure you check all your mailboxes as well as your junk mail. Please contact us ([email protected]) if you have any issues.