Vision Party won the 49 Student Government seats up for election Tuesday night, maintaining its dominant majority in the Student Senate.
Three write-in candidates tied for a 50th Graham Area seat with one vote each. However, the seat will remain vacant, according to Supervisor of Elections Lexi Sederopoulos, as it will no longer exist following the Graham area’s demolition.
Vision was the only party to register in the election, leaving most of the seats uncontested. Only a handful of independent candidates challenged it after Change Party opted not to enter. It’s the first time in recent SG history one party has run unopposed.
The three independent candidates running for Yulee Area, Hume Area and off-campus positions lost.
This year’s election marked the lowest Fall turnout since 2020.
About 8,100 students voted between the two days — a roughly 18% decrease in turnout compared to Fall 2024, when 9,899 students cast ballots. Last year’s election was interrupted by a hurricane, which split the two voting days and could explain its low turnout.
Vision representatives declined to comment after results were announced at the Reitz Student Union.
Kayla Arora, a 15-year-old education freshman who ran for an off-campus seat, thought she had a good chance at winning this semester, she said. She credited her loss to the redistricting of off-campus areas into one at-large district in Fall 2024. Arora also announced her plans to run for SG again next semester.
“I tried my best in this election,” she said. “I guess we’ll always have next Spring. I’ll be running, and I’ll be starting a party under the College of Education.”
Hume Area independent Gabrielle Ontiveros, a 19-year-old psychology sophomore, said prior to the results she was shocked to see Vision was the only party running. Ontiveros did not win the seat.
Ontiveros said she was proud of Vision’s efforts to gain voters despite running unopposed. Vision’s landslide win didn’t surprise her, she added, and she didn’t mind Vision being the only party running, because the cycle of SG alternates parties often.
Ontiveros expressed interest in running again and said she’d consider joining a party depending on who comes along. She added she can see herself joining Vision Party one day.
“I just find the fun in it,” she said. “I think it’s a really good experience to talk to a lot of people on campus and also meet people from other parties.”
Students voted Monday and Tuesday for student senators representing on- and off-campus housing. Polls closed at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, and results were announced shortly before 10 p.m.
Thirteen seats are dedicated to on-campus housing and 37 to off-campus. In the absence of the Change and Watch Parties, 49 Vision candidates ran against the three independent candidates.
Independent candidate Timothy Dillehay, a 19-year-old political science and history sophomore, lost the Yulee area race Tuesday. The Alligator could not reach him for comment following the results.
Before the election, he told The Alligator his goal would be to improve the student experience at UF.
Change Party senator Andrew Larsen, who was elected in the Spring, attended the Reitz Union results party and said he’s proud of the three independent candidates — particularly Arora, the independent candidate for the off-campus seat, who garnered over 700 votes.
Larsen pointed out the difficulties independent candidates face without a party to fall back on, saying it is difficult to run by yourself with no party-wide promotions.
“All three of those candidates earned every single vote that they got independently, entirely by themselves, and that's a really impressive feat,” he said.
Larsen added he does not believe Vision is not an accurate representation of the UF student body, and said he hopes Vision listens to students this semester and holds itself accountable to the Tuesday results.
Second day of voting
Earlier in the day, students headed to the polls — some supporting friends and others voting in line with their Greek organizations.
Alex Styka, an 18-year-old accounting freshman, said he voted because his friends were voting. He wrote in a friend’s name rather than voting for one of the listed candidates, he added.
“I didn’t feel comfortable voting for someone that I didn’t know for a position that I also didn’t know,” Styka said.
Styka said he thinks it’s strange Vision is the only party running this election cycle, though he added the situation is “not my beef.”
Styka’s friend, 18-year-old psychology freshman Ellie Roisman, voted because her mom participated in SG during her time at UF, she said, and because her sorority, Alpha Epsilon Phi, required it. While the chapter told members it usually votes for Vision candidates, Roisman said, it did not ask her to vote in any specific way.
Roisman added she voted for a friend of hers in the write-in section, though she was unsure for which position.
“I feel like [my friend] would be good just because I didn’t know a ton about the other candidates, and I feel like there wasn’t as many opportunities to learn about them,” she said.
Maria Prieto, a 19-year-old English sophomore, went with a friend to vote. The two of them hope the election will ensure SG’s budget — just under $23 million — is properly handled.
“A lot of money goes into the student government,” she said. “We want to make sure that's going somewhere we can actually choose and be involved with.”
The Vision Party’s tabling outside the Reitz encouraged them to vote, Prieto said.
Nolan Rafferty, a 19-year-old accounting freshman, voted for Selena Patel, the only candidate running for the Honors Village seat. He knows Patel personally and said he thinks she is a great person.
“She's very active in the community,” Rafferty said. “She’s involved in many programs throughout the school, so I like that.”
Mariana Gonzalez, a 19-year-old industrial engineering sophomore, voted for Dillehay, the independent Yulee candidate.
“I think it’s important to vote because you need someone to represent you,” Gonzalez said. “Someone who stands for your values and what you want for the school.”
Roselyn Echemendia, an 18-year-old microbiology freshman, heard about SG elections from a Vision member Monday. She researched the candidates at home then returned to cast her vote Tuesday.
Echemendia lives off campus and takes the bus every day. She said bus funding is important to her, and so is having a 24/7 library.
“I wanted to give an informed decision about who I voted for,” Echemendia said. “It’s important to me to have my voice heard.”
Maria Arruda, Angelique Rodriguez, Isabel Kraby, Leona Masangkay and Grace Larson contributed to this report.
