The lines have been drawn; the first few battles have been fought. And on Tuesday, supporters of online voting in Student Government elections received notice they are one step closer in the virtual-ballot war - their lawsuit is legitimate.
A court order from Alachua County Circuit Judge Frederick D. Smith filed on Feb. 28 told members of Students for Online Voting, the UF group fighting for the new system, that UF must "show good cause" as to why online voting was shot down.
The group, known as SOLVe, filed a lawsuit against UF on Feb. 22 after the UF Supreme Court ruled that an online-voting amendment would be unconstitutional. The court said online voting could interfere with SG's ability to prevent voter coercion.
UF must respond within 20 days of when the suit was filed.
Janine Sikes, UF spokeswoman, said the university received the court order on Tuesday and would draft its response within the required time. Sikes said she couldn't comment on the order until then.
Sam Miorelli, SOLVe's executive director, said the group has "won round one."
"It is everything we ever could've dreamed of," Miorelli said.
He said he has no idea how UF might proceed.
"I don't know how they'll defend something that's undefendable," he said.
Miorelli said SOLVe wants SG to hold a special election for students to decide if they want online voting for future SG elections.
Sarah Krantz, SG supervisor of elections, said a special election would be possible if the court decides the request is warranted.
Krantz said a special election in the fall would be ideal to give SG more time to plan and order materials.
The cost of a special election would depend on the number of polling locations and voting days, she added.
