Elections

Each year SULS runs an election in semester 2 to elect the following year’s Executive team. SULS is unique compared to other societies on campus, in that the election is contested by ‘tickets’ rather than by individuals, and members may vote for the ticket they wish to comprise the Executive in the coming year. It is also unique insofar as this election does not occur as part of an Annual General Meeting. The election involves online and in-person campaigning and is a key part of the annual SULS calendar.

This page is designed to provide information to members and prospective candidates, and covers how the elections run, as well as providing links to important documents such as the Electoral Regulations, past rulings and interpretations of the electoral officer, and outcomes of previous elections. 

Key contacts for questions related to the SULS elections:

• Electoral Officer: election@suls.org.au

• SULS President: president@suls.org.au

• SULS Secretary: secretary@suls.org.au

On this page:

1. How do SULS elections work?

2. Previous rulings of Electoral Officers

3. 2024 SULS Election

4. Previous Elections

How do SULS elections work?

The SULS Constitution outlines the Electoral Regulations which govern the electoral process for the society. A summary of this process is outlined below:

Which positions must run in an election?

The election only selects what are known as ‘elected positions’. These are as follows: President, Education VP, Careers VP, Social Justice VP, Treasurer, Secretary, Sponsorship Director, Campus Director, Sports Director, Publications Director, Socials Directors, Competitions Directors, and the International Student Officer. 

The rest of the Executive Positions are selected through an application process by the elected executive once they have begun their term (ie, after 1 December of that year).

Who is eligible to run in an election?

Students may only run in an election if they are enrolled in the Law School (eg, LLB, JD, LLM), and will not complete their degree before 31 December of that year. They must also have signed up to be a member of SULS.

Who organises the election?

The SULS election is run by the Electoral Officer, who is independent of the current executive team. The electoral officer sets the election timeline, handles administrative matters including expressions of interest and nominations, and makes decisions regarding complaints and breaches of the electoral regulations. Decisions of the electoral officer can be appealed to the Legal Arbiter, who is a member of Faculty appointed by the executive each year. 

The 2024 Electoral Officer is Ben Hines, and the 2024 Legal Arbiter is Dr Fady Aoun.

How does the process work?

The first stage of the election involves the Presidential expressions of interest. Students interested in running for President are required to submit an A4 page outlining their vision for the society (but cannot include specific policies). This is a prerequisite to nominate for President, and students who do not submit an EOI by the requisite deadline cannot nominate for President that year. 

President EOIs are submitted and published before EOIs for the remaining Executive roles are due. These Executive EOIs are similar to those for President, except they are for any other elected role and are not a prerequisite to nominate for an elected position which is not President. These are designed to ensure that students can advertise that they are interested in a position especially where they may not know presidential candidates personally, and assist presidential candidates in sourcing candidates for their ticket. These EOIs are then published to members of the society.

Following the publication of Executive EOIs, ticket formation can start. Generally, this is where presidential candidates interview students for positions on their ticket as an eligible Presidential candidate is a prerequisite for a valid ticket. In theory, however, this process could be led by any SULS member, so long as they end up with a Presidential candidate on their ticket. This period lasts approximately three weeks. Once a presidential candidate has a full ticket – ie, has filled all elected positions – they can submit their ticket to the electoral officer using the nomination form for that year. To nominate a ticket, there must also be ten nominators who are not in a position on the ticket, but are still eligible to vote in the society’s elections (ie, are current students enrolled in the law school and are SULS members). The electoral officer will then confirm the eligibility of each person on the ticket and confirm that a valid nomination has been received with the candidates.

If more than one ticket is nominated, the election proceeds to a contested election, where tickets have approximately one week to prepare for the campaign. Campaigning and recruitment for campaign assistance is prohibited before the official commencement of campaigning, which is around two weeks towards the end of semester 2. If only one ticket is nominated, the ticket is automatically elected as the following year’s executive provided each person is eligible. In the very rare occasion that no tickets are nominated, the SULS Constitution outlines the procedure to select the following year’s executive. 

Contested election

Each ticket will campaign as a whole ticket during the campaigning period of a contested election. Voting then opens to all SULS members, and the ticket with the most votes is elected as the following year’s executive. In years where more than two tickets have been nominated, the electoral officer will also implement a system of preferential voting.

Election events?

Elections also involve debates organised by the electoral officer, between both presidential candidates and between tickets during campaigning periods. This is an important way for students to directly compare candidates and compare their policies.

What are the Electoral Regulations and what happens if I breach them?

The Electoral Regulations can be found in Appendix 1 of the SULS Constitution, and contain detailed rules around what types of conduct is permitted in elections, as well as outlining the logistical and other requirements of the election process. This includes regulations regarding eligibility, conduct of participants, and detailed rules for campaigning including when it can commence, where it can occur, and what types of campaigning strategies are permitted (for example, bribery is not permitted). 

Breaches of the electoral regulations can lead to significant penalties including warnings, temporary bans from campaigning, and being disqualified from the election. Importantly, severe consequences for breaches of the election may go to the question of whether someone is a fit and proper person to be admitted as a lawyer in NSW, and students should think carefully about their conduct in these processes, as they may have to disclose serious breaches and consequences to the NSW Law Society for the purposes of admission.

However prospective candidates should not fear the electoral regulations, or be hesitant to speak to the Electoral Officer. These regulations are there not to catch members out, but to ensure a fair election. Students engaging with the election process in good faith are unlikely to violate these regulations, and the Electoral Officer will be willing and able to assist any member if they are uncertain about the permissibility of specific conduct.

Previous rulings of Electoral Officers

Each year, the Electoral Officer will make determinations regarding what is and isn’t permitted in the upcoming election where the Electoral Regulations are unclear or do not address a particular issue. They may also, where relevant, issue interpretations of the Constitution generally. These determinations have been made publicly available to assist other candidates in the electoral process. Students are urged to contact the electoral officer if they have any questions regarding conduct permitted during an election, or if they would like to make a complaint. 

2024

• 2024/01: Amending the Electoral Regulations (Involving consideration of cl 73 of the SULS Constitution)

• 2024/02: Addressing Shortcomings of the 2023 EO (Involving consideration of cl 14 of the Electoral Regulations)

• 2024/03: Retraction of Group Ticket Offer (Involving consideration of cll 1B and 12C of the Electoral Regulations)

• 2024/04: Requirements of USU Membership (Involving consideration of cll 4A and 28 of the SULS Constitution, cll 3 and 4 of the Electoral Regulations)

2024 SULS Election

This year, the election will be contested between three tickets: Wonder for SULS, DRIVE for SULS and Good News for SULS. Campaigning is scheduled to start on Monday 14 October at 9:00 am. Voting opens on Monday 21 October at 9:00 am and concludes on Friday 25 October at 5:00pm. The results of the 2024 SULS Election will be announced to members as soon as practicable after that time.

The recording of the 2024 SULS Presidential Debate between those who expressed interest for President can be found here.

The 2024 Ticket Debate occurred on Tuesday 15 October at 1:00 pm. The recording can be found here.

THE SUMMARY OF ELECTORAL INFORMATION FOR 2024 CAN BE READ HERE.

THE RECORDING OF THE ELECTION INFORMATION EVENING FOR 2024 CAN BE FOUND HERE.

Previous Elections

Students are encouraged to look up old campaigns from previous elections to get an idea of what is involved in running for SULS. Campaigns are typically run in person and online via social media (both through public pages and direct messaging).

• 2023: Contested election between Groove for SULS and Bloom for SULS. Outcome: Groove for SULS, led by Dani Tweedale, elected as the 2024 Executive.

• 2022: Uncontested election. Fries for SULS, led by Naz Sharifi, elected as the 2023 Executive.

• 2021: Uncontested election. Click for SULS, led by Ben Hines, elected as the 2022 Executive. 

• 2020: Contested election between Flare for SULS, Splash for SULS, and Vibe for SULS. Outcome: Flare for SULS, led by Wendy Hu, elected as the 2021 Executive. 

• 2019: Contested election between POP for SULS and Zest for SULS. Outcome: POP for SULS, led by Amer Nasr, elected as the 2020 Executive.