Political party supporters were out in full force on Tuesday to pull students to the polls on the first day of Student Government elections. However, the day was not without conflict.
Although votes were not counted at the day's end, SG Supervisor of Elections Dan Siegel said he expected voter turnout was comparable to fall elections, which racked up about 5,000 votes on the first day.
Voting continues today from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
While candidates in competing parties were pleased with student turnout, partisan bickering reached new heights after the Orange and Blue Party aired commercials Monday and Tuesday night through Cox Communications' cable services.
The commercials, which can be viewed on YouTube, criticize the Unite Party and its executive candidates. The three commercials, which cost $702, appeared on Cartoon Network, MTV and Comedy Central between the hours of 10 p.m. and midnight.
In one commercial, Jordan Johnson, presidential candidate of the Unite Party, appears, saying he does not "have to follow state laws."
The video was recorded during an Elections Comission meeting earlier this semester.
But Johnson said he was misrepresented in the ad.
"I promised a clean campaign to talk about the issues and qualifications of the candidates," Johnson said. "In return, I am seeing professionally made attack ads against me for statements taken out of context."
But Orange and Blue Party Sen. Sam Miorelli said he didn't feel the commercials were personal attacks, just appropriate campaign tactics.
"Look, we are who we've always been," he said. "We're standing up against these people no matter what."
Meanwhile, Sen. Ben Dictor, the Student Body presidential candidate of the Progress Party, said it was unfortunate the Orange and Blue Party had resorted to personal attacks.
"It's sad to see Orange and Blue stoop to this level," said Dictor, who left the party earlier this semester. "They have become everything they have tried to fight against."
Miorelli said he didn't think the commercials were reminiscent of mudslinging tactics taken by the Gator Party last semester, when members handed out "LIES" fliers attacking the Orange and Blue Party's platform.
"Those were poorly executed," Miorelli said. "They were not accurate, and the grammar was incorrect. I was more upset about their poor quality than anything else."
Aside from campaigning, Tuesday presented two other sticky situations.
A roll of 1,000 "I Voted" stickers went missing from the Southwest Recreation Center's polling location, according to Siegel, who said he was frustrated by the act.
"Whoever did it is trying to suppress voting turnout," he said, adding about $2,000 was spent on the stickers.
Another issue involving "I Voted" stickers arose after Matt Martz, an independent Senate candidate, made a public records request for the designs of the stickers.
While multiple designs were considered, Martz said he only received two, neither of which was chosen. As a result, he said he has filed lawsuits against Siegel and UF with the Circuit Court.
Martz said he requested the sticker designs because he believes certain student organizations use the stickers as means of documenting which of their members vote.
Siegel said three designs were ordered and had no other comments about the pending lawsuit.
