The final day to register as a candidate for a UF Student Senate seat officially ended at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
A total of 422 students qualified since Student Government began the interviewing process Sunday in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom, said UF Supervisor of Elections Hans Rojas. After an initially slow turnout with a record-low 11 applicants Sunday, 350 students registered on Tuesday alone.
Of those who qualified, 416 slated with the Swamp Party, the sole majority party. The remaining candidates, as well as those who were selected for the Swamp Party’s slate, have until the end of a mandatory meeting Wednesday at 9 p.m. in the Reitz Auditorium to slate with a party or run as an independent candidate.
Official Swamp Party candidates will be notified by late Tuesday night, said Swamp Party spokeswoman Katie Backstrand.
Aside from the Swamp Party, four other political parties registered with the supervisor of elections: Unite Party, Keg Party, Pants Party and Greek-Frat Party.
Backstrand said the Swamp Party had no affiliation with the Unite Party, which was a majority party in 2012.
“The Unite Party and Swamp Party are two different things,” she said.
The Keg Party, which was registered by 19-year-old UF management and history sophomore Andrew Diamond, was named by Diamond’s friend. He said the party is still working on its platform as well as finding candidates for its slate.
“We didn’t have the time to campaign this year,” Diamond said.
The Greek-Frat Party president could not be reached for comment. Pants Party president Matthew Epstein and Unite Party President Adam Samei declined to comment.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 9/10/2014 under the headline "Vast majority of student candidates slate with Swamp Party"]
