exercise your franchise

While it's probably too late now, a friendly reminder to everyone to go and vote today in the BC provincial election.

I stumbled across this list recently on the Elections BC website of all registered political parties. Who knew there were really that many?

Some of my favourites:

Party with the longest name that has some kind of action in it, hopefully involving thinking of some kind:

TIE

Party Of Citizens Who Have Decided To Think For Themselves And Be Their Own Politicians

and

Platinum Party of Employers Who Think and Act to Increase Awareness

Party with most diverse candidates:

Communist Party of BC

Party that wants to move to Bellingham:

Annexation Party of British Columbia

Party that's got one thing on its mind:

The Sex Party

Apparently I missed the Macleans article on the colourful voting choices that make this province well known for its zany politics... And of course, as we all know from high school social studies, it all started with the man that brought us into confederation, the lover of the universe himself, Amor de Cosmos.

Always an eccentric individual, De Cosmos's unconventional behavior increased in his later years. He was reported to be afraid of electricity, refusing to have it in his house or even to ride on electric streetcars. A heavy drinker, he was given to making emotional speeches and, from time to time, street brawling. In 1895, shortly after an abortive attempt at a return to politics, De Cosmos was declared insane. He died two years later.

Here's hoping that this election produces a slightly more balanced legislative assembly for the next 4 years...