Attracting students' attention is not a cheap task for the two political parties competing in the fall Student Government election.
Campaign finance records show more than ,5,000 is being spent by the Gator and Progress parties as well as two independent candidates competing for Student Senate seats in the election on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Gator Party accounts for most of that amount and more than triples the Progress Party's funding with a total budget of about ,3,500.
Though records state that the party has already spent about ,750 on food for party meetings and supplies, Gator still has about ,2,800 in the bank.
Yooni Yi, Gator Party president, said the rest of that money would go toward stickers, T-shirts, fliers and food for the Gator Party campaign, which begins today.
Most of the money comes from candidates and party supporters, Yi said. Candidates are encouraged, but not required, to donate ,75.
"Getting the message out there is really important," she said. "We tell them the benefits of donating, and it's something they're willing to do."
Yi said she didn't think spending ,3,500 is excessive. Keeping candidates' morale high with adequate campaign materials and food is important, she said.
"We don't feel that it's a waste of money or that it's too much for a SG election," Yi said.
Joseph Trimboli, Progress Party president, said the Progress Party will run its campaign on a budget of about ,1,000.
Records show that Progress has spent about ,30 for several Web site domain names, and Trimboli said the rest of his parties funding would go toward campaign T-shirts, stickers and fliers.
Donations from candidates and supporters provided the money, he said, but candidates were not required to give money.
Trimboli said his party would probably not begin campaigning until Monday, adding his party is trying to run the cheapest campaign possible.
He said he thought ,1,000 was about the lowest amount his party could spend while remaining competitive.
The Progress Party could campaign effectively at a lower cost if online voting was allowed, he added.
"We're only spending what we have to," Trimboli said. "We're all college kids."
UF freshmen Kyle Robisch and Marcus Dixon are also competing in the election as independent candidates. Robisch raised ,70 for his campaign, while Dixon raised ,480, according to SG records.
