Buzz
Elections are meant to be taken seriously because they determine the leaders who will steer your community and your country. However, some people treat elections with a sense of humor, which explains why Mickey Mouse often appears on the ballot in U.S. presidential races and why Michael Moore once attempted to run a ficus plant for office. Surely, no joke candidates can actually win, right? We wish that were the case.
10. Foot Powder
In 1967, the people of Picoaza, Ecuador left us questioning their sanity when they elected a foot powder as mayor. With the election of Pulvapies, a talcum powder brand, it seems they were heavily influenced by what appeared to be an advertising campaign rather than a political one. The outcome certainly makes one wonder what they were on at the time.
The deodorant company behind Pulvapies introduced the slogan, "Vote for any candidate, but if you want well-being and hygiene, vote for Pulvapies." It seemed like a harmless, clever little marketing gimmick to tie into the election season. They surely didn’t expect anyone to take it seriously, but they were very, very wrong. Unfortunately, thanks to the media of the 1960s being more focused on tie-dyed hippie protests, we may never know if Pulvapies actually took office or if he delivered on his promise of hygiene for all.
9. The Illiterate Clown
While people often call politicians "clowns" or use similar insults, the people of Brazil decided to take it literally by electing a clown to their congress. Not just any clown, but an illiterate one whose campaign message was simple: "I don’t know what congressmen do, but vote for me and I’ll find out." His slogan, "It can’t get any worse," was also a key part of his campaign.
That was his entire platform, believe it or not. He urged Brazilian citizens to vote for him because he planned to do absolutely nothing if elected, aside from figuring out what congressmen actually do. Apparently, that was enough to win over voters, as Grumpy the Clown received an astonishing 1.3 million votes—more than double his closest competitor. And honestly, we’re starting to think we might have voted for Grumpy too.
8. A Man Who Won by Accident
In a real-life situation straight out of a movie, Fabio Borsatti, who was only running for mayor as a favor to a friend and had no intention of actually holding the position, ended up winning the election in a small Italian village. His friend, worried that the sole candidate would discourage voters, asked him to step in. How much did Borsatti not want to be mayor? He didn’t even get his family’s vote, yet somehow he secured 58% of the vote in the village with a population of just 507.
Despite his clear disinterest in becoming mayor, Borsatti respected the people's choice enough to stay in office rather than simply resign and hand the title to his friend. Borsatti never really thought about a political platform, which likely made his first weeks in office a bit awkward. Eventually, he focused on promoting tourism, which he successfully achieved simply by being elected—no one would have known about the town otherwise.
7. A Rhinoceros
As seen with Grumpy the Clown, Brazil has a history of strange election outcomes. This is largely due to the country's mandatory voting laws, which can lead to rebellious acts at the polls. In this case, the voters of São Paulo decided to elect Cacareco the rhinoceros to city council, amassing over 100,000 votes.
Cacareco was a beloved, gentle rhino at the São Paulo Zoo. In 1959, as a form of protest, voters came out in large numbers to cast their ballots for her. Despite attempts by the city officials to disqualify her candidacy, Cacareco ended up receiving more votes than any political party. Of course, the city quickly nullified her votes and arranged a re-vote, ensuring she was left off the second ballot.
6. A Dog
In 1981, the tiny town of Sunol, California, needed a new mayor. Bosco Ramos, a local resident, ran against two opponents—and easily beat them. Oh, did we mention Bosco was a dog? Specifically, he was a black Labrador and Rottweiler mix. Having been the town’s unofficial mascot, the residents thought it would be hilarious to elect him as mayor. However, not everyone found it so amusing. The People’s Daily, the Communist newspaper of China, certainly didn’t.
Failing to grasp the comedic nature of Bosco’s election, The People’s Daily took the town of Sunol to task, using the situation as propaganda to argue that Americans see people as dogs and that democracy doesn’t work. Bosco passed away in 1994, but the town honors him in several ways, including a statue. A restaurant named Bosco’s Bones and Brew opened in his memory, and because the people of Sunol have a knack for quirky humor, they even created a one-of-a-kind stuffed dog that, believe it or not, pees beer. We imagine The People’s Daily wouldn’t have been thrilled with that either.
5. A Mule
The Democratic Party in the U.S. is symbolized by a donkey, making it all the more ironic that in 1938, a mule was elected as the Republican precinct committeeman in Milton, Washington. How did the offspring of a donkey manage to win a Republican position? Simple—he ran unopposed. What made it even more interesting was that he was nominated by the town’s Democratic mayor, who clearly took his political duties seriously enough to run the town, but not quite seriously enough to resist poking fun at the Republican Party.
The mule, Boston Curtis, was taken to the courthouse by Mayor Keith Simmons, who had him sign the necessary documents using prints from his hoof. Simmons himself acted as the witness. In addition to poking fun at the Republican Party, Simmons aimed to show that voters often have no idea who they’re voting for, and to highlight the flaws in the primary system. Well played, Mr. Mayor.
4. A Goat and A Poodle
Whangamomona, a small township in New Zealand with a name that sounds like a '80s dance move, was first settled in 1895. It’s so small and has seen such poor population growth that its only school and post office were closed decades ago. You can probably guess from its size and lack of public institutions that the residents aren’t particularly keen on taking elections seriously. When the people of Whangamomona choose not to take things seriously, they really go all in.
Starting in 1989, they began electing a town president. The first person elected was Ian Kjestrup, who didn’t even know he was on the ballot. He served for a decade. However, things truly took a turn in 1999, when the townsfolk elected Billy Gumboot, a goat. He ‘won’ by eating the ballots of his rivals and passed away in 2001. Billy was followed by Tai, a poodle, who ‘retired’ after an assassination attempt left him traumatized. Since 2005, Murt 'Murtle the Turtle' Kennard has served as president—yes, an actual human despite the nickname. The people of Whangamomona may not take their politics seriously, but they sure know how to keep things interesting—and we’d love to grab a drink with them.
3. Dead People
We generally look for a few qualities in candidates, like honesty, integrity, and—most importantly—a pulse. Yet, believe it or not, dead candidates running for office aren’t as rare as one might think. In 2009 alone, two dead men from Florida and Alabama won their respective campaigns even though they had passed away weeks before the election.
Earl Wood, 96 years old and leading up to his re-election in Florida, unfortunately passed away. Still, his name recognition worked in his favor, as he was able to secure 56% of the vote. The other deceased candidate that year was Charles Beasley, a 77-year-old from Alabama running for Bibb County Commissioner. Despite passing on, he secured 52% of the vote, likely due to lazy voters simply checking the Republican box.
This trend continued in 2010, when California Senate candidate Jenny Oropeza died just weeks before the election. Despite her death, she still won in a landslide because it was too late to remove her from the ballot. Her party was coy about the severity of her illness, causing her opponents to cry foul, accusing them of knowingly hiding her condition to force a special election for her seat. Way to keep it classy, California.
2. Bender (Futurama)
After talking about a cat, it’s only fitting to move on to something the internet loves just as much: Bender from the TV show *Futurama*. He’s a meme sensation, the inspiration behind countless usernames, and in 2012, he was actually voted to lead the Washington, D.C. School Board. See? We weren’t kidding about his popularity.
So, how did this come to be? While most of the other bizarre elections on this list involved people voting for ridiculous candidates, in this case, a group of hackers from the University of Michigan infiltrated the electronic voting system and showed just how insecure it was. The officials had actually touted this election as a ‘test run,’ encouraging people to try to break in, confident that their system was impenetrable.
And if there’s one thing the internet loves more than the combination of cats and Bender, it’s a smug challenge from authority figures.
1. A Cat
Let’s face it: cats are lazy, picky creatures that believe the universe revolves around them. They spend their days looking perpetually irritated, eating, swatting at you when they’re bored, and generally avoiding any sort of interaction. But for some reason, they make fantastic politicians—at least, that’s the only conclusion we can draw given that Talkeetna, Alaska has been run by a cat mayor for over 15 years. It all began when the townspeople decided the human candidates were less than impressive, so they launched a write-in campaign for Stubbs, the kitten (they really do grow up so quickly!).
