New process. More support. Your time to lead.
Fill in our Elections Set-Up Form by 31 Jan, and we’ll do the rest!

Join our 2026/27 Student Leadership Team
Society Elections happen every year and are how student groups choose their new committees for next year.
If you're part of a society, this is your chance to decide who leads it in 2026/27 - or to step up and run yourself.
Every student group needs to take part, so their members get a say in what comes next.




Step up and Lead
You told us elections felt confusing and unsupported. So, we’ve made things simpler, clearer and easier.
Setting them up in Memplus was a faff.
➡️ Now it’s one short form - we’ll do the rest.
The long timeline caused stress.
➡️ Now all societies run elections at the same time.
You needed more support.
➡️ We’re adding stalls and drop-ins to help you in person.
Step up and Lead
Add these to your calendar so you don't miss out!
Step up and Lead
Matt, Abi and Amy from the Activities Team are here to support you every step of the way.
Whether you're running in the election, helping to organise one for your society, or just not sure where to start, they've got your back. From quick questions to in-person help, drop-ins and stalls, they're here to make the whole process as smooth and stress-free as possible.
Need 1:1 support?
Wednesdays, 13:00–15:00 | 21 Jan – 4 March
Guild Reception, Devonshire House
Drop by and chat to Abi - she’s here to help with anything election-related. Can’t make it? Email us at activities@exeterguild.com and we’ll get back to you.
We want the process to be fair, consistent and easy to follow for all student groups. By setting one standard timeline, we can make deadlines clearer and make sure everyone knows what to expect and when. Here’s what the new timeline helps with:
We’ll be contacting all society members directly to let them know when nominations and voting open. By keeping the timeline the same for everyone, it’s easier for students to know exactly when they can put themselves forward and when to cast their vote, no matter how many societies they’re part of.
We’d also love your help getting the word out. Committee members should still promote their elections, encourage nominations, and remind members to vote. The more noise you make, the better the turnout and we’re here to support you every step of the way.
Nope! The process for nominating yourself and voting is the same as last year.
We know the current system could be quicker and easier to use, and we agree it’s due an upgrade. But because we’ve already made big changes to the timeline and how elections are set up, we didn’t want to overwhelm you (or the system!) with too much at once.
Improving the nomination and voting process is firmly on our list and we’ll be working on it for next year’s election cycle.
If you’re a member of a society; you might still be eligible to run, even if your plans for next year aren’t fully confirmed. Here's how it works:
To stay active into the next academic year, your society needs to elect three core roles in the 2026 election: President, Treasurer and one other committee role.
If you fill those three roles (even if you don’t fill the others), your society stays active. You can run a by-election next academic year to fill any remaining positions.
If you don’t fill your core roles, don’t panic! Your society won’t be deactivated straight away. The Activities Team will be in touch after voting closes to help you run a by-election before the end of Term 3. If the by-election is unsuccessful, your society will become inactive. But you’ll still have the chance to reactivate it in Term 1 next year.
We want your society to stay active, and deactivation is always a last resort. If you’re keen to keep going, we’ll do everything we can to support you in getting a full committee in place.
When voting closes, the results won’t be shared straight away. We’ll hold them for 7 working days to give us time to look into any complaints that come in.
It also gives us a chance to check which societies might need to run a by-election before the end of the year. For example, if essential committee roles haven’t been filled. If that’s the case, we’ll get in touch with support and next steps.
All society election results will be released on the same date (Wednesday, 11 March).
How this release will occur is yet to be decided, but we are currently in discussions with our developer and will update all groups as soon as we can.
We understand that some of our groups like to release election results at a society event. You can still do this if you choose. How you disseminate this information to your newly elected committee and your members is up to the committee.
Every society needs to hold an AGM (Annual General Meeting) during the academic year.
These are a great chance to look back at what you’ve achieved, share plans for next year, and give election candidates a moment to tell members why they should be voted in.
It’s up to your group when you hold your AGM, but we’d recommend running it during the voting period, so nominees can speak directly to your members.
Want to know more? Check out our AGM guide: my.exeterguild.com/articles/62-agms
We’re adding drop-ins and info stalls to give you quick, face-to-face help when you need it throughout the lead-up to and during elections. Check the latest addition of your committee newsletter for upcoming dates and times. Alternatively, you can email us via activities@exeterguild.com.