Access Party not running in Fall SG elections

Access Party will not be running for Fall Student Government elections.

The party, which registered Thursday with the UF Supervisor of Elections, won’t be electing candidates for Fall elections, said Access President Michael Russel. Russel said Access notified Eric Hobbs at 4:30 p.m. Monday.

“While we will not be slating candidates this season, we will not be silent,” Russel said. “This election, students will find out what it truly means to move all Gators forward.”

UF Supervisor of Elections Hobbs confirmed Access will not be interviewing candidates. He wrote in an email Deez Nuts, Pants Party, Squirrel Party, Taco Libre and Frat Party have registered and are eligible, but only Impact Party will interview students for Senate.

Out of the nine parties that registered, Swamp Party and Greek Party are the only two that are ineligible based off of their student leaders, Hobbs wrote in an email.

Impact Party intends to slate candidates, and the slating process starts Thursday at 9 a.m, he said.

Through Senate legislation, Access plans to address remote online voting, campaign finance spending and regulations on when and how parties operate, Russel said.

Access senators will remain affiliated with the party, but it’s unclear whether Access will have candidates for the Spring election, he said. Students who want to get involved with SG should run as independent or with other parties.

“As long as there is a systematic effort to disenfranchise 80 percent of students from Student Government, there will always be an independent movement,” he said.

Access Party first registered in the Spring 2015 elections, during which the party won the executive ticket and 27 Senate seats, according to Alligator archives. During the last election, Access lost the executive ticket to Impact Party and ended up winning 11 Senate seats.