to ensure that the referendums are run fairly, we have a few rules that you need to be aware of.  this document details the rules and regulations to student campaigning in a referendum and details the procedure to follow should a complaint occur. 

please note that these rules are subject to change to comply with the latest Government Covid-19 restrictions, guidance, and law. 

principles

these rules are based on the following underlying principles:

• fairness and reasonableness
• removing barriers to participation
• encouraging active participation at all levels

they should be considered in line with the union of kingston students byelaws and our referendum regulations

eligibility

• only ordinary members of the union may vote in any referendum.
• all official campaign team members must be current enrolled students at the time of the start of voting
• anyone wishing to join an official campaign team must email representation@kingston.ac.uk

• each official campaign team must appoint a lead campaigner who will act as the point of contact for all referendum requires to the DRO/RO

In the interest of fairness and impartiality, no member of University staff should comment either on the referendum or statements from official campaign teams before, during and after voting is taking place.  

managing the referendum

• a Returning Officer (RO) has been appointed by the Union's Trustee Board. the RO will have the final ruling on all issues related to the referendum.
• the RO will be supported by appointed deputies including a designated Deputy Returning Officer (DRO) who will oversee day to day referendum activity along with investigating any complaints or other issues as required in line with union byelaws
• this year’s RO is Keith Brennan. this year’s DRO is Natalie Forrester - Head of Student Voice at the Union of Kingston Students. 
• all communication to the RO and DRO must be sent to representation@kingston.ac.uk
• the trustee board agree that the question to be asked at this referendum is ‘should the Union support upcoming industrial action by UCU?’
• the trustee board voted that this referendum will run for 3 days (Voting opening on 7^th Feb at 9am and closing at 5pm on 9^th February)

referendum rules

• expenditure must not exceed the amount per campaign as stated at the start of the referendum process. any overspend will result in investigation and possible penalties imposed
• all official campaign teams must have an equal and fair opportunity to promote their stances in terms of resource and accessibility to the student voters.
• publicity must only promote your own campaign
• publicity and all forms of campaigning (including all social media) must not be used in a way that a reasonable person would see as a breach of university bullying and harassment or other existing rules. a breach will result in investigation and possible sanctions up to and including disqualification from campaigning as well as any additional sanctions applied by the university
• lead campaigners are responsible for the conduct of their official campaign team who also have to abide by these rules. if they breach these, it will result in an investigation and possible sanctions up to and including disqualification from campaigning as well as additional sanctions applied by the university

standing rules

• any behaviour which breaches any of the union’s byelaws, the law and university regulations (for example, but not limited to: equal opportunities, bullying and harassment, data regulations etc.) will be referred to the RO/DRO for possible sanctions up to and including disqualification from campaigning.
• the RO/DRO will rule on breaches of referendum rules and refer breaches of union or university regulations and the law to appropriate persons for investigation.
• any referendum results may be delayed until the complaints have been investigated and ruled on

endorsements

• official campaign teams cannot be sponsored by an external company.
• official union groups, clubs or societies cannot actively endorse any official campaign team

campaign team behaviour / conduct

• behaviour of lead campaigners and their official campaign teams will be managed via both these “referendum rules” and “standing rules” (union constitution, union bye-laws, university regulations and the law). if any behaviour would be unacceptable the rest of the time, it is unacceptable as part of a referendum.
• Lead campaigners and their official campaign teams may criticise only the policies of another campaign team that have appeared in the campaign, but not the persona of another campaigner.
• Lead campaigners and their official campaign teams shall in no way attempt to undermine the fair and democratic running of the referendum.
• Lead campaigners shall be responsible for the conduct (and bear any penalties) of those campaigning on their behalf.

Campaigning and referendum publicity

• the RO/ DRO must approve all campaign publicity.
• official campaign team statements of no more than 250 words and a 1 minute (60 second video) must be submitted to the DRO before the start of voting. these  will be shared on the Union website, voting page and other Union promotion. 
• a q&a will be held on the 7^th February between 1-1.30pm where lead campaigners will be invited to speak and answer questions regarding their campaign. you can sign up for the online event here
• the RO/ DRO will not approve campaign publicity content that directly, or indirectly, criticises the persona of any other campaigner.
• all online campaign activity, including social media, must adhere to the principles outlined under ‘official campaign team behaviour/ conduct’.
• official campaigners may not use society, sports club, commercial, or group email lists or social media sites to refer to their campaign. lead campaigners and their official campaign team should make every attempt to ensure emails are not sent out on their behalf by these groups, as disciplinary actions may be instigated against them. neither may these groups, clubs or societies actively endorse any official campaign team
• any internet enabled device is classed as a polling station. official campaigners cannot use their own devices to get students to vote and they must allow students to vote in secret (i.e social distancing and their screen must not be visible) official campaign teams cannot use someone else’s log in details to vote.  
• no campaigning in any of the computer rooms on any of the campuses
• no campaigning in any of the libraries on any of the campuses, including the whole of the Town House building
• no campaigning in halls of residence.

• each official campaign team shall be given a budget for publicity and sundries, the amount of which shall be determined annually by the union.
• the budget for official campaign teams for this referendum will be £100 per each team.
• official campaign teams failing to hand in their expenses claim within 7 calendar days after the close of voting will not be able to claim back any expenses.
• all campaign expenditure must be receipted in order for it to be reimbursed by the union. failure to produce a receipt for any expenditure with result in that expenditure not being reimbursed.
• preowned materials will also need to be accounted for.
• in terms of publicity and campaigning, official campaign teams should only do what others would have the opportunity to do.

regulations for existing officers

• no officer can campaign during their working hours. If they wish to campaign during working hours they must take annual leave.
• no officer can take advantage of their role or the resources linked to it as part of their campaign team (examples of this may include privileged e-mail lists, wearing branded union clothing whilst campaigning, use of stationery, printing, copying etc. this list is not exhaustive and open to interpretation by the RO/ DRO).

complaints, sanctions and appeals

• complaints must be submitted as soon as possible. The deadline for complaints is 5pm on 10^th February
• any complaints must be made in writing in the first instance to the DRO via the complaints form here. the DRO will then decide the appropriate course of action for dealing with the complaint.
• all complaints will be addressed by the RO/ DRO in conjunction with any appointed deputies where necessary.
• vexatious complaints will be dealt with as a breach of referendum rules.
• sanctions in the case of an upheld complaint may be applied up to and including disqualification from campaigning. these are detailed in referendum regulations 
• decisions of the RO are final with no further route for appeal.