When you need to recruit to fill student leadership roles, such as your Student Officer, Committee, and Academic Representation roles, you add those roles as Posts to an Election.
Once you have created your election, you can add any Membership type group (e.g. President, Rep, Vice President for Education, Captain, Women's Officer etc.) as a post and configure the settings; for example:
- How many places are available
- If the candidate needs to add proposers
- How the candidate submits their manifesto (free-text or structured form)
- What requirements the candidates and voters must meet to participate in nominating or voting for the post
- If the candidate can withdraw their nomination
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Edit Post(s) Fields
- Candidate List Fields
- Requirements Fields
- Ballot Rubric Fields
- Edit Post Groups Fields
You can access this feature from your MSL website. Only Content Editors with access to Elections Admin can access the Edit Post(s) windows.
For further information, see Elections Overview.
Edit Post(s) Fields
This table lists and explains the fields in the Edit Post(s) windows.
| Field Name | Definition |
|---|---|
| Group | This is the name of the Group used for the Post. The Group linked to the post must already exist in your MSL System and must be beneath the Organisation to which the Election belongs. For example, if the election's organisation is Ice Hockey, you won't be able to add a President of Chess post to the election. This field is mandatory. If you still need to create the Group, see How to Create a New Role. |
| Short Description | This is a brief introduction to the Post. Content should be written as plain text. |
| Edit Full Description | Click the Edit full description linkfield to open the Edit Post Descriptions window. This is where you enter a longer post description that should contain all other details not already specified in the short description. Any content you add is displayed on the post list and can contain:
The ElectionPost Editor Toolbar can be edited to add or remove the available buttons. This field is displayed only on the Edit Post window. |
| Places | This is the number of candidates who can be elected for the selected Post. This field is mandatory. |
| Quorum | If relevant, specify the minimum number of votes required to make the election of the candidates valid for the selected Post. This field is for information only. |
| Show Organisation Name | If selected, the name of the Post's organisation is included in the post name displayed on the post list and ballot pages. This field is used most for Academic Representation and Activities elections where, without the organisation name, it would be unclear which post is which. For example, if you add the Year 2 BSc(Hons) Engineering Rep group to an election without selecting the Show Organisation Name checkbox, the post would be called 'Rep'. When the Show Organisation Name checkbox is selected, it is called 'Year 2 BSc(Hons) Engineering - Rep'. |
| Number of Proposers Required | If required, specify the number of users the candidate must add as supporters of their candidacy as part of their nomination for the selected Post. The proposers must have an existing account in your MSL System. For further information, see How to Change a Candidate's Proposer(s). |
| Use RON Candidate | If selected, a RON (Re-Open Nominations) candidate is listed on the ballot alongside any approved candidates for the selected Post. Once voting has begun, the Use RON Candidate checkbox cannot be updated. A RON Manifesto Image can be added. For further information, see How to Add a Default RON Manifesto Image. |
| Nomination Form | For further information, see Election Forms. |
| Set Up Forms | For further information, see Election Forms. |
| Require Paper Form | If selected, candidates are required to submit a paper form in addition to their online nomination. The Require Paper Form field:
|
| Withdrawal | If selected, candidates cannot withdraw their candidacy themselves and must contact an Election Administrator to withdraw their candidacy on their behalf. If left deselected, candidates can withdraw themselves at any time during the nominations period. For further information, see How to Withdraw a Candidate. |
| Bypass Approval | If selected, candidates for the selected Post are automatically given the status Approved. Bypass Approval is particularly useful for Academic Representation or Activities elections, where there could be hundreds of posts and Election Administrators may not check every manifesto submitted. For further information, see How to Bypass Approvals. Polling cannot begin until the candidate list is approved at the election level, even with the Bypass Approval checkbox selected. For further information, see How to Approve the Overall Candidate List. |
| Manifesto Type | This is where you specify if a candidate for the selected Post needs to submit a manifesto and, if so, how they complete it. The options are:
For further information, see How to Add and Preview a Candidate's Free-Text Manifesto Document and How to Add and Preview a Candidate's Statement Form. |
| Candidate Statement Form | For further information, see Election Forms. |
| Text Max Word Count | If the Free-text manifesto document Manifesto Type option is selected, specify the maximum number of words the manifesto can contain. |
| Allow Photo | If selected, a candidate can upload a photo of themselves that appears on the candidate list and ballot. Should a candidate not upload a photo, a Default Manifesto/Ballot Image can be added. For further information, see How to Add a Default Manifesto/Ballot Image. |
| Allow Slogan | If selected, a candidate can specify a short campaign tagline to appear above their manifesto. |
| Slogan Max Word Count | If Allow Slogan is selected, specify the maximum number of words the slogan can contain. There is a maximum character limit of 500 characters. |
Delete ( ) | Click Delete to remove the Post from your election. Deleting the post from the election also removes any candidate nominations that have been submitted. For further information, see How to Delete a Post. |
For further information, see How to Add a Post.
Candidate List Fields
For further information, see Election Candidates.
Requirements Fields
This table lists and explains the fields in the Post Requirements window.
| Field Name | Definition |
|---|---|
| Grouping | This displays the detail of the Requirement, i.e. the name of the Top Group or Group, to which you must belong first, in order to meet the requirements of the currently selected Post. For example, if I needed to limit nominating and voting to current members of the Students' Union, the requirement on that Post might be that you must first be a member of the Current Students group. |
| Type of Requirement | This defines whether in order to meet the Requirement the candidate or voter needs to be a member of the selected Grouping, or if the candidate or voter needs to be in a group matching the further fields e.g. a Standard Member of a Society. The options are:
|
| Requirement Option | This is the letter that represents the rule on a requirement. The options are: every letter from A-Z |
| Organisation type | This is the type of organisation of this Requirement’s Qualifying Groups. The options are any Organisation group types you might have set up e.g. 'Club', 'Campaign', 'Representation Group'. |
| Organisation category | This is the category of the selected Organisation type. The options are any categories you might have added within each Organisation’s group type, e.g. 'Academic', 'Creative', 'Faith', 'Political'. |
| Membership type | This is the type of membership of this Requirement’s Group. The options are any Membership group types you might have set up, e.g. 'Membership', 'List', 'Committee Membership', 'Role'. |
| Membership category | This is the category of the selected Membership type. The options are any categories you might have added within each Membership's group type, e.g. 'Standard Membership', 'President'. |
For further information, see How to Add a Requirement to a Post.
Ballot Rubric Fields
This table lists and explains the fields in the Ballot Rubric window.
| Field Name | Definition |
|---|---|
| Ballot Rubric | Content added to this text field is displayed at the top of the ballot page for the selected Post. If left blank, the Default Ballot Rubric is displayed instead. The Ballot Rubric content should contain instructions for the voter about how they cast their vote. The Ballot Rubric can be set per device type (Website, Polling App and Mobile App). |
For further information, see How to Update the Ballot Rubric for a Post.
Edit Post Groups Fields
Once you have added all the relevant Posts to the Election, using Post Groups, you can restrict the number of related posts a candidate can nominate themselves for. For example, you may want to create a Full-Time Officers Post Group, with Max Candidacies set to 1, limiting candidates to nominate themselves for one full-time position.
This table lists and explains the fields in the Edit Post Groups section.
| Field Name | Definition |
|---|---|
| Group Name | This is the name of the group of related Posts. |
| Max Candidacies | This field allows you to restrict the number of related Posts a candidate can nominate themselves for. |
| Posts | This is a list of Posts added to the election. Only posts not already added to a Post Group are displayed. |
| Post Count | This is the number of Posts added to the Post Group. |
| Delete () | Click Delete to delete the Post Group. For further information, see How to Delete a Post Group. |
For further information, see How to Add a New Post Group.