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How can I allow a candidate to change the name they want to run with?

This guide covers how you can allow candidates to enter an alternative name when submitting a nomination. You may need to do this if you have students who would like to run with a different name (i.e. a nickname) without having to submit a preferred name request.

You may also want to allow candidates to run jointly, and so will need to allow them to edit their 'candidate' name to reference the names of both candidates.

Changing this name would be temporary and solely for the purposes of displaying the candidate's nomination during the election process, and would not adjust the name of the member in any other area of the platform.

Please note: This guide does not cover how to submit or approve preferred name requests. If you require guidance on how to do this, please see our guidance here.

Custom Nomination Field

The ability to allow candidates to enter an alternative candidate name is made available by using a specific custom nomination field.

This nomination field may already be available to you within your elections module. To see if you have this:

  1. Navigate to the Elections module and select the 'Configuration' tab
  2. Click the 'Nomination Fields' option within the Management section
  3. Use the filters to search for the shortcode can_name

If this nomination field is already available to you, this will appear in the list and will likely be named 'Candidate Name' or something similar.

What if I can't find this nomination field?

If you are unable to find a nomination field with the shortcode can_name then you will need to create one.

Simply create a new custom nomination field and ensure that you add the shortcode can_name to the field. This ensures that the names that are added to this field behave in the way that they should and act as the candidate name.

Further guidance on how to create custom nomination fields can be found here.

When creating this nomination field, it should look something like this:

You will need to make sure that you enter/select the following when creating your nomination field:

  • Shortcode = can_name
  • Method = Text
  • Type = Input

You can change any of the following details to suit your needs:

  • Name of the nomination field
  • Description
  • Max Words
  • Max Characters

Once this nomination field has been created, you can then select this field when creating your election, and you can mark the field as required if you would like your candidates to confirm explicitly what name they would like to stand with.

What happens when a candidate uses this field to enter an alternative candidate name?

When a candidate uses this field to enter their Candidate Name, this will override their member name for the purposes of the nomination.

Their Candidate Name will then be displayed:

  • As their name when viewing candidates within each tab of an election

  • Within the 'Candidate Name' field when viewing a candidate's nomination documents.

  • When viewing a candidate via the website or app, either during voting or whilst displaying candidates prior to the voting period.

You can mark this field as required as with all other nomination fields if you need. However if you leave the field as optional, the name of the candidate will simply be displayed as their full name as per their member profile.

How will this work if I manually add a candidate to an election?

When you manually add a candidate to an election, you will be able to complete all of the nomination fields available for that election, as a member can when they complete a nomination via the website.

If a field is available to add an alternative Candidate Name, you can still use this field to add the name that you would like to be displayed for that candidate.

Adding a Student Candidate

If you are manually adding a student as a candidate, entering an alternative candidate name will behave in exactly the same way as if the nomination had been submitted via the website.

Enter the student ID as you would when creating the candidate, and if you know the candidate would like to stand with an alternative name to their member name, ensure this is entered within the relevant Candidate Name field.

Adding an 'Object' Name

You may need to add a candidate without using the 'Student ID' option, for example you are adding a candidate whose member data is not available within SUMS.

If you are manually adding a candidate using the 'Object Name' option, you will still be able to complete all of the relevant nomination fields. If one of these fields is to enter an alternative Candidate Name, the name entered here will override whatever is entered within the 'Object Name' field.

Will this nomination field be available via the API?

If you use this nomination field to obtain alternative candidate names, any names entered into this field will automatically be used when displaying the candidate on your website and the app, including if you use the API to display candidate information prior to voting starting.

Created on 6th November 2024