Chomp the Vote, the Student Government-funded, non-partisan organization responsible for mobilizing student voters, has established less of an on-campus presence this fall than in past years.
But Executive Director Brett Roth said it's all part of his plan for the semester, which focuses on registering students during the last week before the voter registration deadline for the presidential election.
And while Roth faces criticism from a former director of the organization for having less experience with Chomp the Vote than another applicant who came out of the organization, Student Body President Kevin Reilly maintains his selection of Roth was based on this plan of action - a plan that relies greatly on text-messaged reminders and other alternative communication methods.
Roth was appointed in July, while at the same time spending his summer in an internship with the Republican National Committee in Washington, D.C.
He said his absence did not take a negative toll on Chomp the Vote's efforts.
Prior to his directorship, Roth served as Greek Affairs director. He was chosen out of four applicants for Chomp the Vote director - two of whom had no previous involvement in the organization.
But UF business administration senior Tyler Antar had spent more than a year working with Chomp the Vote as self-dubbed co-director when he applied for the position and offered summer availability.
Reilly said Roth was hired for his vision, which focused less on "pounding the pavement" and more on informing the masses through tactics such as text messaging.
The first text message was sent out Thursday morning, four days before the deadline to register to vote on Oct. 6, to the estimated 12,000 students registered for Mobile Campus text messages.
Still, Antar's familiarity with the organization was indisputable.
When Chomp the Vote suffered a lack of leadership during the 2006-2007 school year, Antar approached then-Student Body President John Boyles to begin spearheading efforts to prepare students for the upcoming presidential primaries, Antar said.
After first applying in 2007, Antar failed to nab the position, which he said was likely because of an out-of-town commitment for the whole summer.
When former Chomp Director Frank Bracco was appointed, Antar became his right-hand man after returning to UF in the fall.
"The only reason Chomp the Vote was brought back was Tyler Antar. It wasn't me," Bracco said.
Antar said he was surprised Roth got the position, given his summer-long internship.
He said Roth, a member of Phi Kappa Tau, could offer SG the fraternity's support.
Reilly and Roth separately said the idea of Roth becoming director on the backs of his fraternity brothers was ridiculous.
"Roth was chosen because he's the most qualified person and would do the best job," said Reilly, adding he had wanted Antar to stay involved and offered him a position as Roth's right-hand man.
Antar turned down the offer.
"I just thought I was the better candidate for it," Antar said. "I thought that I had the experience."
Roth said he was chosen because he presented the most effective strategy for the coming fall.
Through a co-partnership with the national non-partisan New Voters Project, Roth said more than 1,000 students have been registered. Most of those registrations came from talking to students on campus and offering them forms on the spot.
And then there was the text message on Thursday, which Roth said would incite students to register out of a sense of urgency along with increased outreach.
Based on his experience, Bracco said he was unsure of the success text messaging would have.
"(Students) actually need to be approached," he said. "They need to be asked. They actually need to be forced to do something."
Roth said text messaging is a nearly foolproof method to reach voters because messages must be read before deletion.
Text messages were sent out later than planned because of confusion about UF's switch from Mobile Campus to Acceleration, a local provider.
Daron Williams, campus organizer for the New Voters Project, said students procrastinate, so fewer volunteers were needed the past weeks. The group also provided online options for students to register.
"Instead of being out there every day, every week, for the entire semester, we'd rather just focus on the last week and a half," he said. "We were out there a little less just because, you know, it wasn't crunch time."
Meanwhile, Students for Barack Obama registered 2,500 voters on the first day of the semester, and Gators for McCain have registered about 300 so far, according the organizations' respective presidents. Both organizations have been out encouraging students to register every day this semester.
Former Director Jared Hernandez said under his leadership, Chomp the Vote registered about 8,000 students by the Oct. 4 deadline for the 2004 presidential election, mainly through seeking them out on campus.
Roth said the two presidential elections could not be compared.
He said he expects to register 3,000 to 4,000 students by Monday after weekend efforts but could not specify what those were.
"We haven't set up final plans yet," he said, adding that they might include seeking students to register outside of bars.
Roth said he would agree that his team has tabled less than in years past.
"We also contacted 12,000 students in a matter of 2 seconds," he said.
Roth said he knew some of those students who received the text message might have already registered to vote.
One of those was UF freshman Natalie Romano, who registered a few weeks ago with Students for Barack Obama, but said she appreciated the text just the same.
Clarification: This article originally implied that Roth was appointed to his post as Chomp the Vote executive director before interning in Washington, D.C.; He was already in his internship before his appointment.
