After polls closed and tallies were submitted, Atlantic Party members Lance Moore and Ellie Raab were unofficially elected Student Body President and Vice President, making it the Atlantic Party’s second year with winning candidates.
With 1,276 votes, Atlantic Party Member Dylan Salisbury was elected Boca Raton Governor. With 81 votes, Sunshine Party member Esteban Lasso was unofficially elected Jupiter Governor. Aiden Cross was unofficially elected Broward Governor, even after receiving only one vote, while the no vote option received 22 votes.
Although votes have been counted, the results must still go through a Student Court hearing and the submitted contestations before candidates are officially appointed, according to the student government elections timeline on Owl Central. There is currently no set timeframe for when the results will become official.
“After the conclusion of Student Court Hearings, or run-off elections, whichever is necessary and comes last,” the timeline says.
“We are so honored to have received such overwhelming support from the student body and are looking forward to serving all FAU students,” said Moore and Raab.
Moore and Raab have voiced their key initiatives through their social media accounts as well as the Presidential Debate for when they are in office, including improvements to parking, Greek life housing, expansions to FAU student life, a Spring bonfire, improvements to on-campus wi-fi, more tailgates, FAU Rec Center improvement, and discounts at local businesses. Salisbury didn’t speak at the debate but pushed the same goals in his campaign.
Jupiter Governor Lasso promises free laundry pods, rental of cooking supplies, tool rentals, a student-led garden, an ice cream machine in the dining hall, and bike/scooter rentals.
“I am beyond grateful with my campus for the trust they are putting in me, and I will work hard to fulfill my policies to make our campus more comfortable and welcoming! I want to remind them that the doors will always be open for any great ideas the honors college students might have to improve our campus.” Lasso states.
Paradise Party Members Jack Nixion and Faisal Albaldawi, runners-up for the presidential ticket, and Enricho Toro-Mendez, runner-up for governor, lost the race with only 25.5% of the student vote for president and vice-president and 17.2% of student votes for governor.
“We’re really proud and thankful for my amazing team and all of our supporters. We built an entirely new party in about a month, which is a huge accomplishment in itself. In the short time we had, we received over 500 votes from the student body. We can’t wait to see the future of paradise.” Nixon states
Albaldawi adds, “In just two weeks, we built a brand new party that earned about 30% of the student body’s support, against two already established parties. We ran to raise the standard: more transparency, more accountability, and less performative politics. That message clearly resonated, and we’re going to keep organizing and delivering, whether we hold a title or not.”
Toro-Mendez continues, “While there may be concerns over how some candidates ran their campaigns and of the tactics that they used, I congratulate everyone on an excellent campaign season. This campaign serves as a testament of what FAU can be, a vision where everybody feels included.”
Sunshine Party member May Rojas, a runner-up for the Boca Governor, lost by 17.7% of student votes, said, “I am very happy the Sunshine Party had success in Jupiter! This does not spell the end of the party; over the coming months, our party is taking a free trip to Washington, D.C. for our members, and we will be taking the time to prepare for the Fall elections.”
Current Student Body President and former member of the Atlantic Party, Darsham Gonzalez, comments on the election, “I think the Elections went smoothly and that at the end of the day, with such a large disparity in votes, it showed who the student body wanted to elect.”
He adds, “We’re going to have to wait for these positions until the election is certified after the court process.”
Emily Ives is the Political Reporter for the University Press. Email her at [email protected] for more information on this and other stories.
