Essex SU Communities Election 2026

ABOUT THIS ELECTION: 

The SU Communities Election will see Essex students elect the new representatives of all of the communities of our diverse University. 

The Student Community Officer and Council representative roles are incredibly important volunteering roles that represent 15,000 Essex student members who are part of diverse communities. These roles are essential for the Students' Union to deliver the best experience possible to all. 

By completing this form, you are entering into an election, where if successful, you will become a representative of your community from 1st of July 2026, and finishing on 30th of June 2027, or starting on 28th September 2026, and finishing on June 20th 2027, depending on the role that you apply for. 

WHY IS THIS FORM IMPORTANT?

You must complete this form to be a candidate in the SU Communities Election 2025.

Please submit this completed form by 23:59 on Monday, 4th of May 2026
 
If you haven't submitted the form by this deadline, you will not be able to be a candidate in this election.

  

• This form will take approximately 10 minutes to complete but requires additional time to prepare material in advance, including campaign information and a photo.  
• You can save your responses and come back to them, so don't feel like you need to rush the form in one go. 
• On page 2 we will ask you about your eligibility to be a representative of one of our communities. 
• On page 6 we will ask you about the messages you want to include in your campaign for the SU Communities Election. You will have to prepare some material in advance including campaign information and a photo. 
• This campaign information, including the photo, will be used across the SU website and other promotional material so please allow enough time to prepare these before submitting the form!
• Page 7 is about the support that you will get from the SU during the campaign and voting periods of the SU Communities Election. 

 

Elections - Data Protection Statement 
By submitting yourself as a candidate for the Students’ Union Communities Election you are acknowledging Essex SU’s use of your personal data for this purpose. Our Privacy Notice details your rights as a data subject and outlines what Essex SU will use your personal data for. 

About the roles: 

We are about to ask you which SU Communities role you will apply for. There are three roles: East 15 President, Loughton Executive, and Union Chair. Remember: you can only choose one. 

Here is a brief description of their duties and responsibilities: 

East 15 president: Shall represent the students based in Loughton for an average of 10 hours a week, which includes representing the educational and welfare needs of students on the Loughton campus. They also attend relevant university and SU meetings throughout their term of office and must encourage and support students to organise their own activities and groups on campus. 

Loughton Executive: They support the East15 Loughton President in collecting student feedback and representing their voice further, besides providing support for engagement activities/events where relevant. They also build relationships within the Loughton community and are a key contact for people

Union Chair: They chair the all campus part of SU council. They ensure that the all-campus meeting develops in a productive and participative way. It will also ensure that any complaint about elected officials follows the correct procedure.

You can find the whole role description in our by laws

These are the rules that ALL candidates must agree to follow when taking part in the SU Communities Elections.

First, download and read the Election Rules here: Rules of SU Communities Election

Then confirm you have read and agree to abide by the rules by signing the rules document and uploading it below:   

 

The data protection statement covers how your personal data will be used and stored by the Students' Union in relation to your participation in the SU Commmunities Election 2025.

First, download and read the following document: SU Communities Election GDPR agreement

Then, confirm you consent to the Data Protection Statement by signing it and uploading the signed copy below:

The collection and storage of sensitive data agreement covers that you accept the SU to collect and store sensitive information about you and you acknowledge that you are standing for a role that is considered 'special category data’ – namely, physical health, mental health, sexuality, and ethnicity

First, download and read the following document: SU Communities Election Collection and Storage Sensitive Data Statement

Then, confirm you consent to the Collection and Storage Sensitive Data Statement by signing it and uploading the signed copy below:

This is where the fun bit starts - building your campaign!

This part of the application also requires you to prepare information in advance so please read this section carefully and give yourself enough time to get things ready.

As part of your application you will need to give us information about yourself and the messages that will be used in your election campaign.

You will also need to submit a photo.

The information you provide will be used by the SU on our website, social media and other communications channels to inform students about who you are and why students should vote for you.

So it's REALLY important to make sure you're happy with this information before you submit your final application before the deadline of 23:59 on Tuesday, 6th May 2025, because you will not be able to change it.

Every candidate must attend one of the in-person candidate briefings. 

In the candidate briefing, you will get to know the Elections Team of the SU and will receive essential information about campaigning and the next steps after you have applied. You can also ask any questions that you might have.

The times, dates and locations of the candidate briefings are below - please tick to confirm the candidate briefing that you will attend (and don't forget to put it in your calendar!).