The official results are in for the new 2008 Student Association Senate, even though some of the results have been known for some time now.

Eight senators are elected in each district. District One had only eight candidates and District Five had six, so the winners were known before Tuesday and Wednesday’s election.

Overall, there were 841 votes tallied, just short of last year’s 854 votes.

“We did very well and I’m very pleased with this number,” said Elections Commissioner Rebecca Gerstner. “I was just hoping for a good turnout and we did really well.”

The entire election went smoothly, Gerstner said, except for DuSable’s voting station having to be closed for a short time Tuesday because a judge was running late.

“It’s lower than I had hoped,” SA President Brent Keller said of the final tally. “It’s still a pretty decent sized turnout. We were shooting to break 1,000.”

Freshman chemistry major Alex Sitton was pleased to be elected to a senate seat in District Two.

“I decided to run to be able to put in my input as far as what should be done around campus,” Sitton said.

The SA tried to get the word out about the election by putting up posters, handing out fliers and advertising in the newspaper, Gerstner said.

They also placed the information on the back of route booklets, advertised on Facebook and at such events as Friday Fest, Keller said.

Freshman hospitality major Kierra Jones, who was elected to a seat in District Two, said she served on student government and student council in high school.

“When I got there, it was totally different,” Jones said of an SA Senate meeting. “I decided I’d like to try something new.”

Jones said she was surprised and happy she won.

“As far as campaigning, I did a little bit, but not as much as I should have,” she said. “I went around the dorms, passed out a couple fliers.”

Senior finance major Ivan Avila, who won a seat in District Four, talked about the reason he wanted to become an SA senator.

“I thought we needed some changes,” he said. “Change some things to go in the right direction.”

Forty-eight candidates total ran in the election, and it was the first time in over 10 years that Districts One and Two had at least eight candidates each, according to a Sept. 15 Northern Star article.

“There’s a lot of work for the Senate to do this year,” Keller said. “I’m really looking forward to working with the new Senate.”