Student Association elections started off smoothly Tuesday and will continue today.

At the DuSable location for the polls, Pat Lundardon was in charge of handing out the ballots. Lundardon said the election so far was going well.

“We’ve done really well so far. We had a little bit of a delay,” she said. “We are doing about as good as we did last year.”

Election commissioner Patrick ‘PA’ Frierson said that although they do not set a goal for the amount of votes they expect, that they do see an increase each year.

“We won’t have any numerical values on voting until tomorrow when they count the votes,” Frierson said.

The DuSable polls had a system problem with the swiping of the NIU OneCard, but all problems were resolved and the delay lasted about 30 minutes.

In order for students to vote all they need is a NIU OneCard to ensure the student does not vote twice, said Charles Hammette of the Holmes Student Center polls.

Rachelle Smoot, junior clinical laboratory science major, said she believes it is crucial that students go out and vote.

“It is important as a student to vote, to make your voice heard,” Smoot said. “The elections are campus-wide and all students can vote. The Student Association has a lot of power on campus and with the university.”

SA Senate candidates were not seen campaigning much, Lundardon said.

Candidates themselves have to be at least 100 feet from the voting area, but one student, Elizabeth ‘Lizzie G’ Elie, junior computerized music and new media major, stood outside Dusable, urging students to get out and vote.

“It’s my duty as a student to tell people to vote,” Elie said. “If you’re not voting, what are you doing?”

The SA’s ability to allocate funds and spend money was a determining factor for some students.

“My biggest concern was the use of funds correctly and better use of our money,” said senior French major Curtis Valasek.

Some students voted for people whose names they were familiar with.

“I voted for people I knew and whose competence I believed in,” said senior accountancy major Brandon Djonlich.

The SA Elections will continue until 6 p.m. Wednesday.

“Everything is going smooth,” Frierson said. “We expect campaigning and voting to increase tomorrow.”