After marathon campaigning and record-breaking early voting, Election Day has arrived. Despite exhaustion expressed by members of UF's student political organizations, there's still one more day of work left.
The celebrity endorsements, poll greeters, phone banks and door-knocking campaigns will continue around campus Tuesday in one final push for Florida's youth vote.
After visiting the campus in August, actor Kal Penn, of the "Harold and Kumar" movies and the TV show "House, M.D." will return to UF to encourage students to vote for Sen. Barack Obama.
Penn will appear throughout the day at locations such as the Reitz Union and the Plaza of the Americas, said Patrick Kavanaugh, a spokesperson for Obama's Florida Campaign for Change.
Yes We Van!, a service provided by the Barack Obama campaign, will continue to provide voters rides to their polling locations, Kavanaugh said.
In the evening, UF's Student Government Elections Bash 2008 will be held at the Reitz Union and will be featured throughout the night on ABC's national news coverage, ABC News On Campus reporter Miles Doran said.
Doran, a UF telecommunication student who will help with the broadcast of the event, said the network will try to catch reactions of college students at the bash, which runs from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m.
Some students are showing their political support in another way. According to Facebook, more than 800,000 people donated their statuses to show support to the presidential nominee of their choice today in an attempt to get out the vote.
Student groups will also continue campaigning through the last day of voting.
Garrett Garner, the co-chapter coordinator of Students for Barack Obama, said he is happy that Election Day has finally come.
The organization's volunteers will also inform students of the hours and locations for voting, Garner said. They will be stationed at Pugh Hall and campus polling places at the Reitz Union, the Doyle Conner Building and the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
They will be joined by UF's College Democrats, president Zach Moller said.
Moller said volunteers hope to inform people about all the Democratic candidates on the ballot and persuade Obama supporters to vote a straight Democratic ticket.
Volunteers will also inform voters about the Democratic Party's stances against Amendment 2 and views on local taxes, he said.
UF's College Republicans will also be at Pugh Hall campaigning, said president Bryan Griffin.
The group has also been active throughout election season, hosting rallies, providing voters with information on the political candidates and carpooling voters, Griffin said.
The group has also been hosting daily "flash mobs" in support of McCain on Turlington Plaza, said Carly Wilson, a member of Gators for McCain.
Both Griffin and Moller said they have been exhausted by campaign efforts.
Moller said Democratic volunteers have been visible everywhere, even sporting Obama paraphernalia at the UF-Georgia game in Jacksonville on Saturday.
Griffin said he is excited and hopeful about the election but looks forward to getting a little sleep on Wednesday and reflecting on the entire process.
He also plans on making a scrapbook to commemorate the work and show appreciation for his club.
Moller said he would rather skip class the day after Election Day activities, but he'll be dragging himself to his 9:30 a.m. class on Wednesday to prepare for a test - maybe a little hung over, he said.
Although the election may end today, political activism is far from done.
"Work never ends, and the dream never dies," Moller said.
