The debate over Student Government online voting now faces a nearly weeklong standstill.
Students for Online Voting, known as SOLVe, met with the UF Supreme Court on Tuesday to discuss whether an amendment calling for online voting is legal under the Student Body constitution.
The court will release a decision about the option on Monday or Tuesday. If approved, the amendment would appear on SG spring elections ballots Feb. 26 and 27. At the meeting, members of SOLVe addressed the court's concerns about online voting.
Brian Aungst, the court's chief justice, said SOLVe's petition for the amendment, signed by more than 10 percent of the student body, was verified by SG staff.
Aungst said the court would review the amendment to see if it meets the requirements in the constitution and statutes. If the amendment passes, it would overwrite statutes stating that online voting is illegal, he said.
Tommy Jardon, a law student and president of SOLVe, said those statutes were added in fall 2006 after the court ruled that online voting was unconstitutional because it could lead to voter coercion - a worry that was echoed on Tuesday.
Aungst said if online voting was established, it would be easy for student organizations to illegally supervise and dictate students' votes.
But Jardon said voting would be secure because students would vote using their GatorLink login. If the system is secure enough for paying tuition, it should be secure enough for SG elections, he said.
Aungst said if the amendment is passed, it could clash with duties of the SG executive branch because it couldn't directly supervise voting.
After meeting with the court, Jardon said he still isn't sure about online voting's fate. He said if it is denied, he hopes the court leaves time for him to appeal the decision.
"I think, in the end, the citizens have the ultimate authority," he said.
