Electionary - A dictionary, for elections!

This page is designed to help you with any words or phrases you may hear during elections period. If you have any other questions, just email su.voice@keele.ac.uk!

AGM

Annual General Meeting - the UGM (see below) where we approve our affliations to various organisations as well as the normal decision-making of a UGM.

BAME

Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic - Only students who self-define as BAME may vote for the BAME Students' Officer.

AU

Athletic Union - candidates for AU positions (AU and Sport Officer, AU Campaigns Officer, AU Secretary, AU Media Officer, and AU Events Officer) must be members of the SU, and all AU positions except AU and Sport Officer may only be voted on be members of the AU.

Count

The process of counting all of the votes cast in each election to determine the winner.

DRO

Deputy Returning Officer - Runs the election on behalf of the Returning Officer, and is responsible for administering the count.

EF

Elections Forum - The three-person panel that ensures the DRO has ran the election fairly, and deals with incidents during elections.

FTOs

Full-Time Officers - also known as Sabbs, these are elected students who work full-time in one of five roles.

Hustings

A question-and-answer event where candidates give a speech about their aims and ideas, and students can ask candidates about their policies.

LGBT+

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender/Transsexual plus. The "plus" is inclusive of other groups. Only students who define as LGBT+ may vote for the LGBT+ Students' Officer.

NUS

National Union of Students - Like a normal Students' Union, NUS represents students but on a national level, running widespread campaigns and lobbying on behalf of students around the country. NUS Conference is the National Conference that elects their officers for the next year as well as voting on NUS' policy.

PTOs

Part-Time Officers - officers that volunteer while still studying, such as Environment and Campus Officer or Gender Equality Officer

RON

Re-Open Nominations - RON is an additional option if you don't want to vote for any of the available candidates. If RON wins, a new election for that position will be held.

Sabbs

Sabbatical Officers - these are elected students who work full-time in one of five roles.

STV

Single Transferable Vote - a system of voting where you rank candidates by preference.

SVR

Student Voice Representatives - also known as Student Voice Reps, these are your elected academic representatives, who are responsible for representing students on their course and their academic issues in various meetings with university staff.

UDD Officer

Union Development and Democracy Officer - this is one of the Sabbatical Officers, responsble for development of the union and its members (you!) and for developing engagement with democracy both within the SU and externally.

UGM

Union General Meetings - These are the main decision-making body of the SU. All students are able to come to discuss and vote on policy and changes to the way KeeleSU is run.