Students campaigning for a position on the Student Representative Council (SRC) took to the streets and quads last week encouraging students to vote.

The elections for the Winter 2010 semester set a new high in voter turnout, with more than 3,700 students casting a vote. That more than doubles the number that turned out for the Winter 2009 election just a year ago.

But the higher numbers may be due to more than just enthusiastic street contacting and door-knocking. Almost 1,000 students joined Facebook groups supporting the different candidates.

This model of campaigning isn’t new to politics. President Barrack Obama’s Facebook page currently touts almost seven million supporters, and Ron Paul set records for gathering donations using the internet and social networking in the 2008 election. Paul gathered in $6 million in one 24 hour period according to USA Today.

While campaigning on campus is strictly regulated to certain times, places and strategies, Facebook has been used by some students to voice their opposition to a certain candidate.

 This was evident in the creation of an anti-Brennan Magnusson Facebook group in the recent SRC election.

Magnusson lost the closely contested race for a spot on the council to Tawny Tanner.

Only 13 people joined the group, and the administrator, Jacob Barlow left the group after coming to terms with Magnusson.

“I don’t think it’s had a negative effect,” Magnusson said. “I think it actually gained votes for me. I have no hard feelings for anyone in the group.”

Magnusson also cited the previous semester’s election, in which the winner had fewer Facebook group members than her opponents, in saying he felt that overall, Facebook does not significantly impact election results.

Instead, he feels, it depends more on face to face campaigning.