While members of UF's online voting committee debated privacy concerns at their Sunday meeting, all agreed that online voting in Student Government elections would be cheaper than traditional ballots.
Patricia Telles-Irvin, vice president for student affairs, suggested creating the committee to investigate online voting after a student group sued UF on Feb. 22. The group sued following a UF Supreme Court ruling that an online-voting amendment would be unconstitutional.
The court said online voting could interfere with SG's ability to prevent voter coercion.
Ryan Moseley, Student Body president, chose nine students for the committee and three faculty members. The committee will meet every Thursday and Sunday until its report is due to Moseley on May 1.
At the committee's Sunday meeting, seven members agreed online voting could compromise voter secrecy and voted against changing the system.
Tommy Jardon, president of Students for Online Voting, the group known as SOLVe that sued UF, and Cain Norris, a UF sophomore, voted in favor of online voting despite other members' privacy fears because they said it would increase voter turnout.
The three faculty members Moseley chose for the committee were not at the Sunday meeting or at the preliminary meeting Thursday.
Sam Miorelli, SOLVe executive director, said Telles-Irvin assured him this committee would get to the root of the online voting issue because faculty members would participate. But Miorelli said their absence makes him doubt the committee's effectiveness.
"This committee is absolutely worthless," he said.
He said he e-mailed Telles-Irvin about his concern, but she hasn't replied. In an e-mail to the Alligator, Telles-Irvin wrote that she had no comment.
Daniel Smith, a UF political science professor and one of the faculty members Moseley listed as part of the committee, wrote in an e-mail that he was never "formally asked" to serve on it, and he doesn't plan to.
Moseley said it was a miscommunication.
He said he thought Telles-Irvin's office had made sure the faculty members would be available. One or two faculty members would be on board within the week, he added.
Moseley said this committee - not the first to investigate online voting for SG elections - would provide more background on the option.
"This committee is to check in and say, 'With technology the way it is, is this a possibility?'" Moseley said.
If the committee finds online voting to be viable, Moseley said he could ask the UF Supreme Court to rule on it again or explore the possibility through Student Senate.
Miorelli's still skeptical.
"I still have absolutely no reason to believe no matter what this committee comes up with that it's going to be followed," Miorelli said.
