Fresh off a dramatic campaign season, some members of Student Government said they are ready to get to work, following an SG election that brought about 20 percent of the student body to the polls.
New senators will be sworn in at Tuesday's Student Senate meeting, which will be divided into two meetings to accommodate outgoing and incoming senators.
Forty-six of 47 positions were up for grabs, and the Gator Party candidates took 33 of them.
The Orange and Blue Party snagged 12 seats - more than a minority party has had in recent years.
About 10,460 students turned up at the polls Tuesday and Wednesday. Supervisor of Elections Dan Siegel said he thought the high turnout was a result of the parties' strong campaigning efforts and the political mindset created from the upcoming presidential election.
"Ten thousand voters in the fall is unbelievable," said Siegel after he announced the results to eager candidates and supporters.
Election returns were not announced until about 3 a.m. Thursday morning because one of the largest districts had to be manually recounted.
The Gator Party swept districts A, B and C, but District D, the largest area of representation, was split: Orange and Blue claimed five seats, and Gator took eight.
One of the three independent candidates tied for the District E seat with an Orange and Blue candidate. The other two independent candidates, as well as all eight candidates from the Student Party, lost.
There was no candidate on the ballot for the Family Housing seat.
Siegel said senators will vote at the meeting to break the tie for District E.
The first meeting of Tuesday night will give members of the present administration a chance to wrap things up and say goodbye, said Senate President Kellie Dale.
"A lot of us who are leaving Senate have been there a long time," said Dale, who has been involved with SG for about three years. "I'm sad to be leaving, but I'm proud of the work that I did."
Dale said the past seven months have been a transition period given the new dynamic of having a different party in the Senate.
Sen. Shire Patel, Gator Party leader, said he thought more voters turned out this fall because of the political atmosphere created by an upcoming national election.
But some Orange and Blue Party members felt the turnout may have been aided by a Tuesday Alligator article concerning private e-mails sent among top SG and Student Senate officials.
The e-mails - which were sent among Dale, Student Body President Kevin Reilly, Senate Pro-Tempore MaryGrace Bell and External Affairs Director Matt Goldberger - detailed plans to shut out the Orange and Blue Party from seats in Senate committees in May.
Sam Miorelli, the party's president, said Tuesday he thought some students were moved to take action after reading the story.
Orange and Blue Party Sen. Benjamin Cavataro, who was re-elected to represent Hume Hall, said the parties should not be fighting with each other.
"The election's over," Cavataro said. "Now's the time to come together."
He said he thought one of the main reasons pushing voters to the polls was dissatisfaction with SG.
Tori Obert, UF sophomore, said she voted for Orange and Blue Party in order to bring diversity to Student Senate and because she is not Greek.
"It's nice that there are more seats," Obert said. "I don't foresee it being as big of a change as everyone hoped."
Shannon Magnuson, a UF political science junior who voted for the Gator Party said Orange and Blue might bring some change, but the Gator Party still has the majority.
"I guess because (the Gator Party has) more resources, they have a tendency to be effective," Magnuson said.
The Gator Party spent about $4,000 on their campaign, while Orange and Blue spent about $2,300.
Although much was spent on campaign materials, party members and supporters spent roughly $685 on alcoholic beverages at the Orange & Brew as they waited for the returns.
Aside from deciding half of the Senate seats, students also voted on two referendum questions. Eighty-four percent of students voted against requiring hand scans to gain entrance to UF recreational facilities, and about 95 percent voted in favor of making the Wednesday before Thanksgiving a travel-safety holiday.
UF senior Frank Bracco, co-author of the Thanksgiving travel-day referendum, said he knew the proposal would pass, but he did not expect a 95 percent approval rate.
"It's gonna be pretty hard to ignore the students," Bracco said.
Alligator Writer Thomas Stewart contributed to this report.
