Friday 16-10-2026 - 12:26

Over this autumn and winter, we're here to help SUs in preparing for elections throughout 2026/27, supporting you to feel informed & confident in preperation to run successful elections. Our election support service is available to NUS Charity members, and here's a recap of the range of ways we're happy to help:



Step 1: Firstly, register your election with us via this form. We request that SUs do this per election, by-election or referendum so we know each year's key election dates & have access to up-to-date rules.

Planning
We publish our annual election report each summer, summarising key findings & nationwide trends from over 69 SUs. We benchmark key data & include case studies across a range of elections-related topics. Recommendations from the Returning Officer (RO) also address issues we’ve seen crop up in 2025/26.

During the winter, we’re hosting a series of development webinars to help SUs plan ahead of their elections. There's a range of webinars planned, aimed at first time or returning elections staff, plus a dedicated webinar for small & specialist SUs. All webinars will be recorded and available to watch back too - sign ups open very soon.

We also support the DRO Community of Practice, who meet to collaborate and share practice and support each other with elections. You can join the Teams site via this form, or the WhatsApp group ran by the CoP leads.

We continue to encourage SUs to gather demographic data on their candidates. However, if your SU doesn’t have the capacity to do this, then during the spring election period in 2027 we offer a free survey you can ask your candidates to complete.

The service also produces resources, and in 2026 we published guidance for DROs on handling and investigating complaints. We have also published slides for DROs to add to their candidate training or briefings.

During elections
During elections we’re here and can support you if things are getting tricky! We advise on queries & share guidance on dealing with complaints – or just give you a space to work through an issue if needed. Email us at elections@nus.org.uk as we monitor this closely during elections periods and triage queries by urgency. The RO can also rule on appeals via this form if you’re already signed up for the service’s support.

We’ll also be hosting a drop-in triage in spring 2027, offered every weekday 4:00-4:30pm in late February - mid March.

Once your elections are over, feel free to request your bespoke RO report. The report confirms your elections were conducted in a free and fair manner – perfect for board reports and sending across to your institution.

Any questions, we’re here to help via elections@nus.org.uk.