The shortest day for students to choose which political party to run with turned out to have the largest number of candidates Friday.
UF Supervisor of Elections Sam Book wrote in an email that 76 students chose to run with Impact Party, 21 with Access Party and one person chose to run as an independent for the Fall 2015 Student Government elections. In total, 238 students have qualified for SG elections, he said — 190 students chose to run with Impact, 46 with Access and two as independents.
Students will not be able to run with majority party Swamp Party because the party did not register for the upcoming elections.
SG will continue the interview process today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for students looking to qualify for the elections to fill 50 Student Senate seats based on the student’s residential locations.
Students can register with Access, Impact or as an independent candidate. To qualify, students must be full-time and have their Gator 1 Cards, Book said.
Jackie Phillips said she chose to run with Impact because she wanted to join a party that remembered the students.
"I am not Greek," the 19-year-old UF family, youth and community sciences sophomore said. "The party’s not just about where you come from, but about making a difference."
Justin Ortiz, a UF applied physiology and kinesiology freshman, decided to run as a candidate for Access.
"I wanted to make a difference," the 18-year-old said.
He said he will be able to do that with Access.
Students must prove their residency on Thursday by providing either certified mail delivered by postal service, an Alachua County voter registration card, an original copy of their lease, an original copy of utility or cable bill prior to qualifying, an original copy of a promissory note or lease from a fraternity or sorority house, an original copy of their homeowner’s insurance, or an original copy of a warranty deed.
Both parties will notify candidates if they have been chosen by Thursday.
Contact Caitlin Ostroff @costroff@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @ceostroff
