Putting your name on a ballot is intimidating, no matter what you’re running for. It’s hard to even know where to start!
Step 1: Choose your Path
Find your Fit: Visit the UVSS Elections website and consult the candidate handbook for details on available positions and which is right for you.
Step 2: Complete the Form
Get Support: Gather the full names and Vnumbers of 15 people UVic undergrads who support your candidacy. They don’t have to support you, just agree that you should be permitted to run.
Define Your Vision: What change do you wish to see? Create a compelling platform.
Submit your Nomination Form: Submit your nomination form, including a platform and headshot photo.
Step 3: Campaign
Get Campaign-Ready: Attend the candidate orientation to better understand campaign rules as they’re prescribed in UVSS bylaws and the Electoral Policy. After that, you can start campaigning!
Meet the Voters: You’ll get a chance to meet other candidates and voters at the Meet-the-Candidates event on Oct 18.
Get Votes: Posters, social media, leaflets, buttons… There are countless ways to campaign!
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Most of our members are located in Victoria, BC., the traditional territories of the Lekwungen peoples, also known as the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations communities.
Many of us are settlers or visitors on land that was violently stolen from Indigenous peoples. The historical and continued dispossession of land threatens Indigenous peoples’ physical and emotional safety, cultural and linguistic growth, and basic and legal rights.
The Electoral Office organizes elections for students at the University of Victoria, but we, just like you, exist within a wider context of colonization. We encourage you to think about why you possess certain rights (like the ability to vote) while others may not, and why elected Directors are rarely Indigenous – or People of Colour, folks with disabilities, and other marginalized identities (both at the University and broader levels).
We are always open to feedback in order to critically evaluate our policy and processes. Deconstructing colonial systems and rebuilding equitable ones is uncomfortable, hard work, but we are ready.