Students who commute to campus from outside Alachua County will face a blank ballot during the Fall 2014 Student Government elections.
No candidate — either from the Swamp Party or those running as an Independent — has stepped up to campaign as a senator for District E, which represents students living outside of Alachua County. The ballot has a write-in candidate form.
It is uncertain what will happen to District E if there is no candidate write-in, said Hans Rojas, UF Supervisor of Elections. A replacement senator may be appointed later in the year by the Student Senate Replacement and Agenda committee through standard procedures, he said.
Rojas said he did not know the exact number of students living in District E.
Swamp Party spokeswoman Katie Backstrand wrote in an email there were no candidates that the Swamp Party could slate for District E. She added that the Swamp Party is not pursuing a write-in campaign either.
Jacqueline Sweat, 20, commutes daily to UF from Middleburg, Florida. Sweat votes for District E candidates every semester, but she feels that her district is underrepresented.
Because she can’t find adequate parking on campus, Sweat said she has to add another 30 minutes to her 45-minute drive to park near Southwest Recreation Center and take a bus to get to her classes.
“It does bother me in the sense because commuters have our own issues with parking,” said the UF tourism, recreation and sport management senior.
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 10/1/2014]
