The closing of Government of the Student Body campaigns represented a victory for the election committee and a disappointment in the visibility of candidates.

“I think the voter turnout should be higher this year,” said Clint Fichter, GSB election commissioner. “As a commission, we’ve done more than people have in the past to promote the campaigns. If we have a low voter turnout, it’s the fault of the campaigns themselves for the low visibility they’ve shown, and the student body in general for being apathetic. We’ve done our job as a commission.”

For Fichter, the end of the campaign represents a series of firsts for election commission officials. Two of the executive candidate debates were held in the Maintenance Shop, a departure from previous years. One debate was broadcast via radio and television, which he said had never been done before.

But, Fichter said, there’s no guarantee these things are enough to bring a higher voter turnout. He said there has been an uncommonly low on-campus presence of the campaigns this year.

“They didn’t seem to be as active as I thought they were going to be,” he said. “A lot of what they did was grassroots stuff, but the visibility on campus was pretty low.”

Sophia Magill, who currently serves as a Pan-Hellenic senator for GSB, said she and running mate William Rock are anxious to see the outcome of the election.

“I feel very positive about the reactions we’ve had with students this past few weeks,” she said. “We’re really just excited for the vote.”

Drew Miller, an off-campus government senator, said he felt confident about his campaign.

“We’ve been working more with talking to students than putting up pretty pictures all over campus, although we’ve done some of that too,” he said.

“Our campaign is based on ideas instead of advertising, and I think students will respond to that.”

Russell Graves, senior in computer engineering, has no previous experience with GSB. He said the campaign had left him fairly reassured about his chances in the race.

“I feel pretty confident about it,” he said. “We’re very much running on an outsider campaign, but I think we have a good shot at success.”

Of the 38 senate seats available, only one, the College of Agriculture seat, is being contested, with three students vying for two seats. Current senator Henry Alliger will attempt to maintain his position on GSB against two newcomers, Nathan Katzer and Nathaniel Johansen.

Many senate seats, such as those for the Towers Residence Association, Union Drive Association and the University Student Apartment Community, are without candidates.

Fichter said these seats will likely be filled by nomination later this year.