Voting is well underway and over 3100 people have already cast their ballot in this year's SU Elections but why should you vote?

There's no fast and straight answer and everyone has a different reason. It can be anything from supporting a friend that is running to wanting to see better funding for your club or society.

Beyond that there's the speed it takes to vote, the impact it has and the fact that everyone who hasn't opted out of the Union is a member. The key point is that each and every one of their voices matters because the Students' Union's sole purpose is to make life better for them.

So here's our top five reasons why you need to vote in this year's elections:

Voting is a quick and easy process so there's no excuse. It only takes five minutes and you log in using your University Portal details. You can quickly view all the candidates and read their manifestos if you're unsure who to vote for and then get to rank your candidates. This is important because if your favourite candidate doesn't get elected it means your vote then passes onto your second preference giving your favoured candidates a better chance of being elected.

The Students' Union has a mission statement, 'Making Student Life Better', and as a membership organisation you have a real say on what we do. If you want something to change on campus we can help make that happen and it's down to elected Student Exec Officers to spearhead those campaigns. So make sure you make full use of your democratic right as an SU member and vote for someone whose policies align with your views.

Real change for the better happens all the time thanks to elected officers working together on Union Council. In the last year Council have helped to abolish card charges in the shop, they've successfully lobbied the University to improve their communication when UniLearn goes down and they are also working to set up a working group to look at Peer Mentoring across campus.

The Students' Union is an organisation with a multi-million pound turnover. The elected officials' influence where that money is spent so choosing the right officer for you is essential. If you want more money spent on a certain area of student life see if a candidate is standing on that pledge and ask them how they intend to fulfil it. 

If you play for a sports team or are involved in a society you might not be aware just how big an influence elected officers have on you. For example, the Vice President Student Activities helps to organise Freshers' Festival, works with the Student Activities Executive to allocate funding and helps to provide development opportunities for clubs and societies. Often a lot of their work is behind the scenes but they are essential in ensuring your club/society gets the support it needs, be it recruiting new members, holding a successful fundraising event or locating a place to train.

Voting is open until 17:00 tomorrow with the results announced at 19:30 in Rhubarb. You can see all the candidate manifestos on our dedicated SU Elections mini-site and all voting is conducted online. Please be aware that the polls will be closed overnight between 21:00 and 07:00.