Armed with fliers, stickers and a Tupac poster, Student Government parties pushed their platforms on the first day of SG elections Tuesday in a last-minute attempt to garner extra votes.
Elections will continue today from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Supervisor of Elections Ariana Alfonso said 4,928 students voted Tuesday. She added that one group received a voting violation for distributing fake "I Voted" stickers. Alfonso will investigate the incident.
Unite Party President Joey Regalado said the Unite Party had volunteers stationed all around campus in order to cater to the hectic schedules of students.
Although the party had solid volunteer support, the elections process is tough, he said.
"It's the best 48 hours of your life that you never want to do again," Regalado said.
Unite Party spokesman Jason Yoepp said the the party hopes to see a larger voter turnout than in past elections, even though the number of voters is usually higher in the spring.
"Even if it was 50 percent, we would argue that we'd like to see more," Yoepp said.
Joshua Niederriter, an Orange and Blue Party candidate, said the party planted campaigners at places like the UF Levin College of Law, where the Unite and Progress parties had fewer campaigners.
Niederriter said campaigners were also in full force around residence halls, where the party feels it has a strong chance of winning Senate seats.
Orange and Blue Party policy and communications director Ben Cavataro said the party also wants to target students who haven't voted before, especially freshmen.
"They pay money to Student Government, but they don't feel like they're getting enough out of it, and Orange and Blue wants to change that," Cavataro said.
Progress Party Secretary Nina Martinez said long poll lines might discourage students from voting because they make it more time-consuming and inaccessible. Martinez said she wishes SG would have online voting available for students.
Progress Party campaign manager Nick Mildebrath said he anticipates some tight races similar to last fall's election, where a handful of votes made the difference.
Mildebrath said he also thinks the races will be close because some districts only have candidates from two parties running.
Matt Vanture, a junior building construction major, said he made his decision after talking to party volunteers handing out fliers. He said he based his vote on which party had the most well-informed volunteers.
"Even though it's on a small, school-wide level, it's important to have your voice heard," Vanture said.
