Above Znoneofthe (né Sheldon Bergson; born 28 June 1969)[1] is a Canadian politician and perennial candidate. He changed his name to "Above Znoneofthe" with a silent "Z" so that his name would be placed last on alphabetical ballots (hence reflecting the idea of voting for None of the Above).

Biography

While a university student, Znoneofthe ran in the 1993 Canadian federal election as a candidate for the short-lived National Party of Canada in the Ontario riding of Markham—Whitchurch-Stouffville, earning about 1% of the vote.[2]

Znoneofthe re-entered politics in 2015, and legally changed his name so that it would appear on electoral ballots as "Znoneofthe, Above", adding a silent Z so that his name would appear at the bottom of alphabetical-order ballots.[1][3] Znoneofthe explained that his name was chosen for those who do not usually vote, telling CBC News that he thought "one of these days we should get ‘none of the above’ on a ballot."[1]

He first ran under his changed name in a provincial by-election in Whitby—Oshawa on 11 February 2016; however, since Ontario electoral ballots list candidates' names with their given names first, he appeared as "Above Znoneofthe".[4]

Later in 2016, during a by-election campaign in Ottawa—Vanier, Znoneofthe attempted to participate in a debate to which he was not invited, as a candidate under the None of the Above party. Audience members shouted for Znoneofthe and perennial candidate John Turmel, running under the Pauper Party, who was also not invited, to leave, but neither left until escorted off of the stage by police. Znoneofthe did appear last on the alphabetized list of candidates in the CBC News article describing the incident.[5]

He has since run in several by-elections as an independent and as a member of the None of the Above Party. He contested the 2021 Canadian federal election as a member of the Rhinoceros Party, running in the riding of Papineau against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.[6]

Electoral record

Federal

2021 Canadian federal election: Papineau
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Justin Trudeau 22,848 50.30 –0.82 $82,530.41
New Democratic Christine Paré 10,303 22.68 +3.48 $8,058.03
Bloc Québécois Nabila Ben Youssef 6,830 15.04 –0.96 $3,928.18
Conservative Julio Rivera 2,198 4.84 +0.6 $9,640.70
Green Alain Lepine 1,448 3.19 –4.18 $4,443.78
People's Christian Boutin 1,064 2.34 +1.71 $0.00
Rhinoceros Above Znoneofthe 418 0.92 +0.21 $0.00
Marxist–Leninist Garnet Colly 115 0.25 – $0.00
Independent Raymond Martin 102 0.22 – $0.00
Independent Béatrice Zako 97 0.21 – $0.00
Total valid votes/expense limit 45,423 98.07 -0.12 $107,828.60
Total rejected ballots 894 1.93 +0.12
Turnout 46,317 63.51 –3.66
Eligible voters 72,931
Liberal hold Swing –2.15
Source: Elections Canada[7]
Canadian federal by-election, October 26, 2020: Toronto Centre
Resignation of Bill Morneau
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Liberal Marci Ien 10,581 42.0 -15.4 $116,839[citation needed]
Green Annamie Paul 8,250 32.7 +25.6 $100,008[citation needed]
New Democratic Brian Chang 4,280 17.0 -5.3 $71,222[citation needed]
Conservative Benjamin Gauri Sharma 1,435 5.7 -6.4 $0[citation needed]
People's Baljit Bawa 269 1.1 – $22,752[citation needed]
Libertarian Keith Komar 135 0.5 –
Independent Kevin Clarke 123 0.5 –
Free Dwayne Cappelletti 76 0.3 – $1,570[citation needed]
No affiliation Above Znoneofthe 56 0.2 – $0[citation needed]
Total valid votes 25,205 100.0 –
Total rejected ballots 118 0.5 -0.2
Turnout 25,323 30.9 -35.2
Electors on lists 81,861
Liberal hold Swing -20.5
Elections Canada[8][9]

Ontario

Ontario provincial by-election, February 27, 2020: Ottawa—Vanier
Resignation of Nathalie Des Rosiers
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Lucille Collard 10,404 52.22 +9.36
New Democratic Myriam Djilane 5,031 25.25 -4.42
Progressive Conservative Patrick Mayangi 2,329 11.69 -9.69
Green Benjamin Koczwarski 1,709 8.58 +4.50
Independent Julie Fiala 188 0.94
Libertarian Ken Lewis 129 0.65 -0.04
None of the Above Above Znoneofthe 95 0.48 -0.38
Ontario Alliance J. Justin O'Donnell 38 0.19
Total valid votes 19,923 99.45%
Total declined, rejected and unmarked ballots 110 0.55%
Turnout 19.89 -27.33
Eligible voters 100,190
Liberal hold Swing +6.89
Ontario provincial by-election, February 11, 2016: Whitby—Oshawa
Resignation of Christine Elliott
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Lorne Coe 17,053 52.92 +12.27
Liberal Elizabeth Roy 8,865 27.51 −3.99
New Democratic Niki Lundquist 5,172 16.05 −6.99
Green Stacey Leadbetter 529 1.64 −2.63
None of the Above Greg Vezina 261 0.81 –
Independent Above Znoneofthe 140 0.43 –
Libertarian Adam McEwan 109 0.34 –
People's Political Party Garry Cuthbert 52 0.16 –
Freedom Douglas Thom 34 0.11 −0.44
Pauper John Turmel 11 0.03 –
Total valid votes 32,226 100.00
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots 61 0.19
Turnout 32,287 28.94
Eligible voters 111,566
Progressive Conservative hold Swing +8.13
Source(s)
Elections Ontario (12 February 2016). "Return from the Records, 2016 By-election Whitby—Oshawa (100)" (PDF). Retrieved 18 February 2016.

As Sheldon Bergson

1993 Canadian federal election: Markham—Whitchurch-Stouffville
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Jag Bhaduria 35,909 46.50 +14.69
Progressive Conservative Bill Attewell 19,695 25.51 -27.59
Reform Joe Sherren 17,937 23.23 –
New Democratic Jack Grant 1,692 2.19 -6.80
National Sheldon Bergson 973 1.26 –
Natural Law Stephen Porter 469 0.61 –
Independent Paul Wang 458 0.59 –
Abolitionist Dean Papadopoulos 85 0.11 –
Total valid votes 77,218 99.30
Total rejected ballots 545 0.70
Turnout 77,763 70.25
Eligible voters 110,696
Liberal gain from Progressive Conservative Swing +21.14
Sources: Canadian Elections Database,[10] Library of Parliament[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Reilly, Katie (30 January 2016). "Man Legally Changes Name to 'Above Znoneofthe' to Appear Last on Ballot". Time. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b "History of the Federal Electoral Ridings, 1867–2010". Government of Canada. Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Man changes name to Above Znoneofthe for Ont. byelection". CTV News. 29 May 2017. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  4. ^ Elections Ontario (12 February 2016). "Return from the Records, 2016 By-election Whitby—Oshawa (100)" (PDF). Retrieved 18 February 2016. Alternate Link Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  5. ^ "Police escort 2 uninvited candidates out of Ottawa-Vanier byelection debate". CBC News. 11 November 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  6. ^ "September 20, 2021 General Election Results Validated by the Returning Officer". Elections Canada. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  7. ^ "September 20, 2021 General Election Results Validated by the Returning Officer". Elections Canada. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Toronto Centre: October 26, 2020, by-elections — Poll-by-poll results". Elections Canada. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  9. ^ "October 26, 2020, By-elections: Official Voting Results". Elections Canada. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  10. ^ "1993 Federal Election: Markham—Unionville". Canadian Elections Database. University of Calgary. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
Categories