As a student-run organization, WUSA’s student leaders are elected annually by Waterloo undergrads to be your student voice, and guide our efforts for the coming year.
WUSA Elections generally take place in the Winter term, where new candidates are nominated for a variety of leadership roles within the organization and students vote on who they want to represent them for the coming year.
Want to learn more about roles related to WUSA governance and find out if being a student representative is right for you? Visit our Board of Directors page for more details. Have specific questions about running for a WUSA Governance position?
Feel free to reach out to your CRO for any questions we didn’t answer on this page!
Important Dates
All times displayed local Waterloo, EST (GMT -5)
Senate By-election Dates
Available seats are: 1 Health Senate Seat (2-year duration) & 1 At-large Senate Seat (1-year duration)
- Nomination Period: February 27, 2023 – March 06, 2023
- Interim Period: March 07, 2023 – March 09, 2023
- Campaign Period: March 10, 2023 – March 22, 2023
- Voting Period: March 20, 2023 – March 22, 2023
Visit vote.wusa.ca
Voting is easier than ever
We’ve compiled everything you need to know about upcoming elections, all in one place! Check out vote.wusa.ca for any active elections, candidate profiles, and virtual ballots.
Simply login using your WATIAM to get involved and make your voice heard!
Nomination Resources
Know a social advocate who would make an awesome leader? Or do YOU want to drive change that affects the lives of students at uWaterloo and across Canada?
We’ve compiled everything you need to know about nominations, all in one place! Have a look or share it with someone you think would be a great fit for the role! View the WUSA Nominations page for full details on how to make your mark.
Campaign Support
WUSA is here to offer you information, resources, and support to ensure you have the tools you need.
First things first, make sure you review the Elections & Referenda Procedures to learn about your budget*, rules for campaigning, allegations and appeals, and more.
*WUSA will cover the cost of running a campaign for WUSA Executive and Students’ Council candidates. Senate candidates can find budget information in Senate Bylaw 3 (see section 2.02c) opens an external site.
Below you can find all the Campaign marketing resources you can use to get the word out to grow your base of voters:
https://sway.office.com/UCmJ0brGcl1J7n3s?ref=Link
Candidate Elections Logo:
Download Full Colour | Download White Version
Make sure this logo is used on your campaign posters, we also encourage you to use it on any other printed campaign materials.
Don’t forget to submit your candidate profile on vote.wusa.ca to ensure you’re featured on our site and included in any print materials.
While there is no deadline to submit this information, remember that these pages are being promoted from the start of campaign period right until the end. It can take up to three business days for your information to be uploaded to the site. In order to guarantee your information is included in any WUSA print materials be sure to submit before the date stated at the All Candidates Meeting.
Allegations & Appeals
An Allegation is an accusation made that a candidate or referendum campaign committee has done something wrong during the Election period, and is the main mechanism in place to ensure the adherence of procedure and subsequently, the fairness of the election. Allegations remain assertions until they can be proved. Allegation forms exist to streamline the volume of allegations that come in and to help prevent duplicate reports of the same incident. The subject of the allegation can be a candidate, a team, or a referendum campaign committee.
Candidates are disqualified if they reach 11 points – check out point values in Elections & Referenda Procedures in the WUSA library.
Appeals are requests from the alleged to change to the Elections and Referenda Officer’s (ERO) official decision on an allegation. The Chief Returning Officer (CRO) hears all appeals and should include any new information that has come forward. Further appeals beyond this point against the CRO’s decision would go to the Elections and Referenda Committee (ERC).
The CRO or ERC (depending on the appeal) may do any of the following:
1. Uphold the original decision
2. Alter the penalty of the original decision, within the limits of this procedure
3. Refer the ERO or CRO, as the case may be, to review a decision in light of new information or with consideration to a specific section of this procedure
4. Overturn the decision and present an alternate ruling, thereby eliminating the decision’s penalties so received
All rulings rendered by the ERC with respect to a further appeal of a decision made by a CRO shall be final.
If you’re unsure whether or not a violation has occurred, you’re encouraged to report it to the ERO and who will then figure out if it is a violation of procedure or not.