KUNA - Candidates & Campaigns
Presiding Officer Candidates
Any questions concerning candidates and campaigns should be directed toward Emilee McCubbins at emilee@kyymca.org
At the Kentucky United Nations Assembly (KUNA), an exciting part of the conference experience is student elections. KUNA Candidates complete service projects, study and advocate for three chosen platforms, and create campaign materials in preparation to compete at the conference for a position as a Presiding Officer at KUNA.
To check the status of your Candidate’s requirements, check the Candidate Database. Candidates will be added as they complete their Candidate Declaration Form.
School delegations must be all Student YMCA members in order to run a candidate. Students can pay and register themselves as Student Y Members here, or advisors can collect payment and affiliate each student via the Advisor Portal. Delegations develop their own process to determine who they select as their Candidates.
Candidates do not run for specific positions. All candidates are running for KUNA Presiding Officer and should refer to themselves as such. Candidates could receive the office of Secretary General, President of the UN General Assembly, or Director General of the UN Educational, Scientific, & Cultural Organization (HS only).
Each candidate must meet the following requirements before they are allowed to run at assembly.
- Must be part of a delegation containing only Student YMCA Members.
- Must be listed on their school’s KUNA Registration as a candidate.
- High School KUNA: 11th grader who has attended at least 3 conferences* including 1 KUNA.
- Middle School KUNA: 7th grader who has attended at least 2 conferences* including 1 KUNA.
- Is not a recently elected or appointed KYA Presiding Officer.
- Must be in good standing with their Student YMCA Chapter as determined by the advisor, in good standing with the school as determined by the principal and administration, and have at least a “C” GPA (or equivalent).
*Conferences include: KYA, KUNA, GFI, LTC, MYA, Y-Corps, YKAP.
Last year, both 7th and 8th grade KUNA candidates ran and were elected as Presiding Officers. As that was a transition year, KUNA 2025 and beyond will allow only 7th grade candidates to run.
Each MS attending KUNA can only run one candidate, and that candidate must be in 7th grade and meet all of the listed above requirements.
As a Presiding Officer Candidate, I agree to the following process:
- Submit my Virtual Candidate Declaration prior to my conference’s KUNA registration deadline. If you feel you need an extension, please email emilee@kyymca.org.
- Submit your Presiding Officer Commitment Form.
- Organize at least 1 Student Y Service Project and report it on MobileServe:
- Download MobileServe if you haven’t already!
- Click on Settings (the Gear Icon)
- Under “Join Organization," put in the Candidate-specific code (03C86C). This will add you as a candidate – it does not remove you from your other organization like your Student Y Chapter.
- This project must be completed prior to KUNA.
- Question about MobileServe? Email emilee@kyymca.org.
Note: At times, a candidate may wish to run for office with a school different from the one they currently attend. Check FAQ at bottom for more information.
Once you have reviewed the process and guidelines above, please use the information below to plan your campaign. Your campaign will include the following components:
- Campaign Platform
- Campaign Materials
- Campaign Team
As a candidate, you will form your campaign around your platform, which will be based on three (3) of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – goals that you will work to address while serving as a Presiding Officer:
UN Sustainable Development Goals | SDGs (Official Page)
Candidates will submit their platforms as part of the online Candidate Declaration, and must include the platforms in their speech.
At KUNA, Candidates will be permitted the use of two (2) types of materials to use during their campaigns. No candidate can spend more than $50 on these materials, including the retail value of items donated from any person or organization:
- Trifold
- Speech (2 min)
No other items or promotional materials will be allowed, even within your delegation. This includes, but is not limited to: zoom backgrounds, pens, buttons, ribbons, t-shirts, adhesive stickers, gum, candy, cookies, games of chance, giveaways, face painting, etc. Social media outlets can be used by students for their campaign, but may not be paid for; this includes Snapchat Geo Filters, Facebook Ads, or other promotions. Students may not be endorsed by politicians or other partisan groups.
Trifold Board (3ft x 5ft)
Must display your full campaign platform – be as creative as possible when choosing how to display it! Should display who you are and why you are running for Presiding Officer in a simple way. Should be easy enough for delegates to understand without you present at the board. Can be handmade, professionally designed, professionally printed, or any combination thereof.
Requirements:
- Must display at least one (1) photo of yourself that follows the Dress Code and Code of Conduct guidelines for KUNA and your school.
- Must discuss your three platforms with at least one (1) photo or paragraph per platform
- Must be approved by Y-Staff at the Day 1 Candidate Meeting before being displayed
Violations:
- Unattached props are NOT allowed. Boards can contain props that are attached. Props unattached to the board will be asked to be removed, this includes any buttons, ribbons, or other items worn in relation to the candidate.
- Electronic or battery-powered items are NOT allowed. This includes but is not limited to lights, screens, laptops, or any electronic items that might be displayed on the table in front of your board.
- Materials costing more than $50 in total are NOT allowed. ALL receipts must be provided to Y-Staff during the initial candidate meeting. “Free” materials provided by the school, a parent’s or guardian’s workplace, or other source DOES count towards this $50 maximum and fair market value should be documented and provided alongside other receipts.
- Mentioning “running for Secretary General” or other equivalents are NOT allowed. Candidates should refer to “running for KUNA Presiding Officer” or other equivalents
Speech (2 minutes)
Candidates will give Speech 1 on the first day of the Assembly and should expect (but are not guaranteed) to give Speech 2 on the final day of the assembly. These speeches give delegates an insight into the Candidates’ personalities and platforms and should focus on conveying your personal message to the delegates.
Requirements:
- A copy of both speeches must be provided to Y-Staff for review
- Speech 1: Day 1, Candidate Meeting
- Speech 2: Day 3, before General Assembly
- Speech 1 MUST contain at least 1 minute devoted to discussing your campaign platform and how you intend to address each UN Sustainable Development Goals
Violations:
- Speeches longer than 2 minutes are NOT allowed. Candidates going beyond 2 minutes will be gaveled to stop.
- Props of any kind are NOT allowed. This includes using the paper on which your speech is printed as a prop.
- Audience participation of any kind is NOT allowed. This means call and response (“Raise your hand if…,” “How many of you…?”, etc.) is against the rules.
- Disparaging other candidates in any way is NOT allowed and will not be tolerated publicly or privately.
Campaign Manager
- Each Candidate may appoint a Campaign Manager, who shall be responsible for helping publicize and promote the candidate.
- No Presiding or Supporting Officer can be a Campaign Manager during the KUNA at which he or she holds office.
- Campaign Managers have NO special privileges, and may not leave their assigned room to travel with the candidate during debate.
Supporter Guidelines
- In debate, only Candidates themselves may identify themselves as such – “John Doe, Candidate from Any School”
- Any supporters will be called out of order for saying, “John Doe, representing Any Country, home of Candidate John Doe.”
- Failure by a Candidate or his/her delegation to conduct a campaign in an appropriate manner will result in the Candidate being removed from the ballot.
- Supporters cannot participate in a call-and-response within the candidate speech.
- Candidates can not campaign outside of the Election Room.
A warning will be issued following the first violation of the guidelines listed above. If a second violation occurs, the Candidate’s school will lose voting privileges, and the Candidate may be disqualified at the discretion of the Kentucky YMCA Staff.
Any violations against the Kentucky YMCA’s commitment against all forms of bullying, discrimination, and racism can disqualify a candidate without warning, at the discretion of the Kentucky YMCA Staff.
Outlined below is the ideal KUNA election procedure. It is the goal of the Kentucky YMCA that every conference follow this procedure and that we do not have to make adjustments. Adjustments to the procedure outlined below may have to occur because of logistical challenges and will be communicated two weeks in advance to conference. Factors that influence decisions surrounding adjustments to the procedure include the number of candidates, the overall number of students in attendance, the number of schools in attendance, the number of countries represented, and the results of the primary election.
- Day 2: Candidates deliver their Primary Speech (2 minutes).
- Night 2 Primary Election (if we have enough candidates for a Primary Election): During the Mandatory Delegation Caucus, students vote by country for their Top 3 candidates.
- Night 2: During the Closing Thoughts General Assembly, the Final Candidates are announced.
- Day 3: During the Closing Session, candidates deliver their General Speech (2 minutes).
- Day 3 General Election: During the Closing Session, students vote. individually for their TOP candidate
- Day 3: At the conclusion of the Closing Session, Presiding Officers are announced!
□ Am I registered as a candidate within my delegation's KUNA registration?
□ Did I submit my Candidate Declaration Form?
□ Did I submit my Candidate Commitment Form?
□ Did I submit my service project on Mobile Serve?
□ Have I written my speech and is it ready for the at-conference Candidate meeting (day 1 of conference) where it will get approved by Y-Staff?
□ Is my trifold completed and ready for the Candidate meeting where it will get approved by Y-Staff?
□ Have I collected all receipts for my trifold materials to show Y-Staff during the Candidate meeting?
If you need to check the status of your Candidate’s requirements, check the Candidate Database. Candidates will be added as they complete their Candidate Declaration Form.
Frequently Asked Questions
A: All candidate speeches in front of the General Assembly will be no longer than 2 minute long.
A: Candidates are given special placards and name tags allowing them to speak in all Committees to ensure they are visible to all potential voters. They may roam freely. Candidates only receive priority speaking privileges once per Committee Room.
For example, if you try to speak in "Voting Committee A" for a second time, you are NOT guaranteed to be called upon.
A: If you think that something you’re planning might violate the rules there is a strong chance that it does! Please reach out to Nicole (nicole@kyymca.org) as soon as possible to clarify.
A: You may do so if you meet the following conditions:
- The student meets all of the standard candidate requirements listed above, and the delegation adopting the student is composed entirely of Student Y members.
- The adopting school’s administration and delegation AND the student’s school’s administration have approved the adoption.
- The student’s current school is NOT attending another conference during the same season.
A: The actions of a candidate’s supporters, especially those from that candidate’s school, do reflect the candidate. Any violations committed by a supporter will be treated as violations by the candidates themselves and will be treated as such.