Democracy Toolkit
Democratic participation is a key student activity at the heart of the structure of all students' unions. Involvement in democracy, be that on campus, or in local and national elections, provides a simple but important way of engaging students with their union, local community, and national government.
Please see below for links to all parts of NUS’ Democracy Toolkit, as well as research on elections and e-voting carried out by NUS.
DT 1: Running union elections
This core document provides details on how to run a union election from a technical point of view - listing the core questions you will have to ask and the issues you will have to consider.
The following toolkits can be used in conjunction with this guide and concentrate on specific elements of the union election process.
DT 2: Generating involvement in elections
You will find ideas and thoughts in here which may very well cause you to take another look at your own elections processes and see whether you can improve them. These are not intended as a complete compendium of ideas, more as a stimulus to fresh thinking.
DT 3: NUS and your elections
NUS regional staff can offer support throughout the elections. This toolkit outlines the areas where help may be appreciated and how NUS can help the smooth running of your processes.
DT 4: Ensuring fairness in elections
This lists some examples of the issues local Unions have faced over the years and ideas on how to approach them. It should however be used with consultation with your Returning Officer and NUS staff.
Election resources
This contains the appendices referred to in the Democracy Toolkit sections 1-4.
Research
Elections returns sheet (2008)
E-voting: Future or Farce’
This report looks at the viability of online voting; whether it increases turnout during elections, the issue of rules and an exploration of the fears over e-voting software. A look at e-voting and campaigning is discussed and the report concludes with a look at how online voting does increases accessibility.
Union voting research 2007 statistics
Union voting research 2007 commentary
These two documents provide statistics collected by NUS about union elections in 2007 and a commentary on that data. It asks questions about what factors affect turnout within union elections.
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