The Student Association Senate elections started Tuesday, but not many students seem to know.

“I only knew from [candidates] passing out flyers, but I didn’t vote,” said Marissa Molen, a junior speech-language pathology major. “Not many were passing out flyers. Usually they’re all over the place.”

Alyse Farmer, a sophomore special education major, works in the library but did not see many people voting Tuesday.

“There was hardly anyone there,” Farmer said. “I didn’t know about the elections. They didn’t make it well known.”

Other students shared similar thoughts on the lack of publicity.

“It wasn’t publicized at all. There were no flyers in the dorms,” said senior communication major Mike Reifsnyder. “In the past there have been people running around handing out flyers.”

But not everyone shared Farmer and Reifsnyder’s sentiments.

“There was better announcing of elections last year,” said senior criminology major Joe Gulino.

“I think they did some late advertising. I didn’t know about them until today. I got some flyers this afternoon,” said Tashianna Milsap, a junior physical therapy major.

Some expressed disinterest in the elections.

“It’s nothing I really care about,” said Brandon India, a senior computer science major. “I don’t even know what the Student Senate is. Is that our future dictators?”

The SA Senate is a body of student representatives elected to represent NIU students, according to the SA Web site.

The senate also is divided into districts, though some candidates did not seem to know what they were.

District One is Stevenson and Neptune and District Two is the rest of the residence halls, said Phillip Gonzalez, a sophomore pre-physical therapy major and candidate of the latter.

District Three is Grant and District Four is for people who have apartments in front of Neptune on Lucinda, said Wendy Palma, a junior studio art major and a District One candidate.

District One candidates are Palma and Marlon Manning, a senior engineering technology major.

District Two candidates are Gonzalez and Patrick Binning, a sophomore political science major.

Adam Novotney, a senior management major, and John Acardo, CAB president and senior political science major, are running for District Three. J.R. Perez, a sophomore physics major, and Carl Williams, a senior psychology major, are running for District Four.

“I’m affiliated with some that are running, but I’ve just been handing out flyers today,” Gonzalez said.

Candidates of District Four handed out flyers today in King Memorial Commons and DuSable areas, Palma said.

Voting also takes place today from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Holmes Student Center, DuSable Hall and Founders Memorial Library.