The by-election for who will be the next mayor of Toronto is quickly approaching and there are over 100 candidates to choose from.
On Wednesday, a Twitter user posted an early look at the unsurprisingly long ballot list and it caused a flood of reactions from Torontonians, and even some from Canadians outside of the city and from our neighbours down south.
The list includes 102 different candidates organized in alphabetical order. It starts from Bahira Abdulsalam and ends with Nathalie Xian Yi.
None of you are ready for this Toronto mayor ballot pic.twitter.com/ADOoq4DrNt
— Max Hartshorn (@MaxsWebBlob) May 25, 2023
One could argue that the number of candidates could make it difficult for frontrunners, such as former city councillors Olivia Chow, Ana Bailao, and former Toronto police chief Mark Saunders, to stand out amongst the crowd.
READ MORE: Highlights from Toronto mayoral debate at Daily Bread Food Bank
Some online users are criticizing the voting system, with some even comparing it to the United States.
*Laughs in standard 30 page American ballot*
— Aaron Binder (@theaaronbinder) May 25, 2023
Our 2003 ballot for recalling California Governor Gray Davis and electing a new person (who would be Arnold Schwarzenegger) seems about the same. I think we can handle it 😉 https://t.co/fcaskz7Y1J pic.twitter.com/b6cuMHjGmB
— David Dranow, The Gentleman Scientist (@GntlmnScientist) May 26, 2023
One user joked, “That’s more people that voted in the last election.” According to the Association of Municipalities Ontario, average voter turnout was 36 per cent across 385 municipalities in 2022. In Toronto, only 29 per cent turned out to vote during last year’s municipal election, a record low statistic.
That's more people than voted in the last election. https://t.co/iBTlndSy4V
— adam? ❎ (@ElSeldo) May 26, 2023
Extremely unserious city https://t.co/eEcqxSmpeZ
— 🌸🌺🌼🌹 (@mcarv_s) May 25, 2023
Other users are feeling overwhelmed by the number of candidates and are feeling dissuaded to vote because of the process.
Me: ok I have to check out all the candidates for mayor to feel confident in my vote
— Erin Rose 🍍 (@maclebass) May 25, 2023
Toronto Mayoral Ballot 2023: https://t.co/eT3W5gGBA0 pic.twitter.com/mUC78D7TFn
Someone please tell me how you’re even supposed to vote with this amount of names on it. Taking 5 minutes just to find the name you’re looking for. This list is insane lol #TorontoMayor https://t.co/j604DfPcGw
— Kamoiiiii (@_Kamoiii) May 25, 2023
This literally makes me not want to vote….and is this even accessible for those with certain disabilities like wtf https://t.co/e7GP4TH9Kd
— huliana (@JulzzCastroo) May 25, 2023
Another commenter even said, “Honestly, at this point I’d vote for @JohnTory again 100%.”
The former longtime Toronto mayor resigned from the top job back in February after admitting he was in an extramarital affair with a former staffer.
Voters can cast their ballots on June 26. Advance voting starts on June 8 to 13 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m at available voting locations across the city.
