Students interested in running for Student Government Senate this Fall election can begin registering Friday.
Elections will be Oct. 6 and 7 for 50 Student Government Senate seats.
Students interested in getting on the ballot can start slating, or interviewing, with parties Friday, according to the UF Student Government website. Students can also register as independent candidates with the Supervisor of Elections starting Friday.
Slating and qualifying, where students confirm they meet the requirements to run, will be held in person on the second floor of the Reitz Union or virtually through Zoom and electronic forms Friday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, according to the website.
To run for any seat, potential candidates must be full-time students and not be in UF conduct probation or have any outstanding UF delinquent financial obligations, according to the Student Government election rules. Undergraduates must have at least a 2.5 GPA and graduate students must have at least a 3.0.
To qualify for running in a certain district or living area they must be a current resident of that area. Some of the seats available for Senate are Broward-Rawlings Area and Graduate and Family Housing.
“If a candidate wishes to slate with a party, I recommend dressing business professional and preparing for an interview,” Hayley Price, SG Supervisor of Election, wrote in an email.
Students can submit forms showing they meet the requirements in person on the second floor of Reitz Union or virtually by submitting electronic forms to the Supervisor of Elections, according to the Fall elections rules.
Union Party, Change Party and Progressive Party will have options for in-person interviews at the Reitz Union or virtual interviews over Zoom, according to the party presidents. Gator Party will have a completely virtual slating process over Zoom.
Seven of the seats up for election are currently held by Inspire Party senators. It is unclear if the party has registered to run in this Fall election. Senate Minority Leader Shawn Zimmer declined to comment on whether students can slate with the minority party.
Progressive Party will have additional virtual interviewing options like Skype, Facebook Messenger and Google Hangouts.
Parties will determine which candidates they want to run with by Sept. 16 and can change their picks until Sept. 24.
Students have many options this election, with three new parties and a majority party, Gator, to run with. Early voting dates haven’t been determined yet.
Gator Party campaign manager Gabriela Hernandez wrote in an email the party is looking for emergent leaders and the best and the brightest at UF.
“The best piece of advice we can offer any potential candidate is that ‘it starts with you,’” she wrote.
Gator will soon have a form on their social media for students to submit ideas for the platform, Hernandez said.
Change Party President Colin Solomon said that the party wants anyone who wants change on campus to slate and hopes to build a diverse ticket.
“We want every single possible student who feels like they want to see a difference at this university to come and slate with us,” Solomon said.
Change’s platform, or set of goals for the semester, will be based on social justice and what students want to see change on campus, Solomon said. He added that Change will set up tables at Reitz Union and Turlington during slating and post Google forms on their social media to gather campaign ideas from students.
Union Party President Branden Reis said he encourages interested students to interview for Senate seats over Zoom in order to allow for social distancing at the Reitz Union.
Union Party’s platform will be determined by issues and ideas students bring to the interview, Reis said. The party will focus on student organizations including funding issues, he added.
Progressive Party’s platform includes increasing uni sex bathrooms on campus and defunding the University Police Department. Ortiz said the platform could change as students bring ideas to the interviews.
Progressive President Alfredo Ortiz said the party is looking for students with experience in or interest in activism to slate with his party.
“We want to attract students who have a history of being advocates for certain marginalized groups and also students who are interested in learning how to be effective advocates for those marginalized groups,” Ortiz said.
Students interested in running for Student Government Senate this Fall election can begin registering Friday.
Lianna Hubbard is a reporter for The Alligator’s Investigative Team. The UF women’s study major began as a freelance reporter three years ago. She founded her community college’s award-winning newspaper before beginning at The Independent Florida Alligator. See an issue in your community or a story at UF? Send tips to her Twitter.
