Above Znoneofthe
{{Short description|Canadian perennial candidate}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{infobox person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Above Znoneofthe
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| birth_name = Sheldon Bergson
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1969|6|28}}
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| occupation = Politician, perennial candidate
| years_active = 1993, 2015–present
| era = 20th-21st century
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| known_for = Changing name to appear last on ballots
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| party = National Party of Canada (1993), None of the Above Party, Rhinoceros Party (2021)
}}
Above Znoneofthe ({{ne|Sheldon Bergson}}; born 28 June 1969){{cite magazine |title=Man Legally Changes Name to 'Above Znoneofthe' to Appear Last on Ballot |first=Katie |last=Reilly |magazine=Time |date=30 January 2016 |url=https://time.com/4201147/above-znoneofthe-sheldon-bergson-ontario-election-name-change/ |access-date=29 September 2021 |archive-date=29 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929155703/https://time.com/4201147/above-znoneofthe-sheldon-bergson-ontario-election-name-change/ |url-status=live }} 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.
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.{{cite news |title=Man changes name to Above Znoneofthe for Ont. byelection |newspaper=CTV News |date=29 May 2017 |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/man-changes-name-to-above-znoneofthe-for-ont-byelection-1.3433685 |access-date=29 September 2021 |archive-date=29 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929152006/https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/man-changes-name-to-above-znoneofthe-for-ont-byelection-1.3433685 |url-status=live }} 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."
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".{{cite web|url=http://www.elections.on.ca/content/dam/NGW/sitecontent/2016/resource/election-results/ED100%20WhitbyOshawa%20-%20Return%20from%20the%20Record.pdf|date=12 February 2016|author=Elections Ontario|title=Return from the Records, 2016 By-election Whitby—Oshawa (100)|access-date=18 February 2016}} [https://results.elections.on.ca/en/data-explorer?fromYear=1867&toYear=2021&candidateNames=ABOVE%20ZNONEOFTHE&levelOfDetail=candidate Alternate Link] Retrieved 8 November 2021.
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.{{Cite news|date=11 November 2016|title=Police escort 2 uninvited candidates out of Ottawa-Vanier byelection debate|work=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-vanier-byelection-debate-police-1.3846969|access-date=25 October 2021}}
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.{{Cite web|title= September 20, 2021 General Election Results Validated by the Returning Officer|url=https://enr.elections.ca/ElectoralDistricts.aspx?ed=2124&lang=e|access-date=29 September 2021|website=Elections Canada}}
Electoral record
=Federal=
{{2021 Canadian federal election/Papineau}}
{{2020 Canadian federal by-elections/Toronto Centre}}
=Ontario=
{{CANelec/top|ON|February 27, 2020|Ottawa—Vanier (provincial electoral district)|Ottawa—Vanier|percent=yes|change=yes|by=yes|reason=Resignation of Nathalie Des Rosiers|riding=Ottawa—Vanier}}
{{CANelec|ON|Liberal|Lucille Collard|10,404|52.22|+9.36}}
{{CANelec|ON|NDP|Myriam Djilane|5,031|25.25|-4.42}}
{{CANelec|ON|PC|Patrick Mayangi|2,329|11.69|-9.69}}
{{CANelec|ON|Green|Benjamin Koczwarski|1,709|8.58|+4.50}}
{{CANelec|ON|Independent|Julie Fiala|188|0.94|}}
{{CANelec|ON|Libertarian|Ken Lewis|129|0.65|-0.04}}
{{CANelec|ON|NOTA|Above Znoneofthe|95|0.48|-0.38}}
{{CANelec|ON|Ontario Alliance|J. Justin O'Donnell|38|0.19|}}
{{CANelec/total|Total valid votes|19,923|99.45%}}
{{Canadian election result/total|Total declined, rejected and unmarked ballots|110|0.55%|}}
{{Canadian election result/total|Turnout||19.89|-27.33}}
{{Canadian election result/total|Eligible voters|100,190}}
{{CANelec/hold|ON|Liberal|+6.89}}
{{end}}
{{2016 Ontario provincial by-elections/Whitby—Oshawa}}
=As Sheldon Bergson=
{{CANelec/top|CA|1993|Markham (federal electoral district)|Markham—Whitchurch-Stouffville|percent=yes|change=yes}}
{{CANelec|CA|Liberal|Jag Bhaduria|35,909|46.50|+14.69}}
{{CANelec|CA|PC|Bill Attewell|19,695|25.51|-27.59}}
{{CANelec|CA|Reform|Joe Sherren|17,937|23.23|{{endash}}}}
{{CANelec|CA|NDP|Jack Grant|1,692|2.19|-6.80}}
{{CANelec|CA|National|Sheldon Bergson|973|1.26|{{endash}}}}
{{CANelec|CA|Natural Law|Stephen Porter|469|0.61|{{endash}}}}
{{CANelec|CA|Independent|Paul Wang|458|0.59|{{endash}}}}
{{CANelec|CA|Abolitionist|Dean Papadopoulos|85|0.11|{{endash}}}}
{{CANelec/total|Total valid votes|77,218|99.30}}
{{CANelec/total|Total rejected ballots|545|0.70}}
{{CANelec/total|Turnout|77,763|70.25}}
{{CANelec/total|Eligible voters|110,696}}
{{CANelec/gain|CA|Liberal|PC|+21.14}}
{{CANelec/source|Sources: Canadian Elections Database,{{cite web |title=1993 Federal Election: Markham—Unionville |website=Canadian Elections Database |publisher=University of Calgary |url=http://canadianelectionsdatabase.ca/PHASE5/?p=0&type=election&ID=611#page_1=ontario&page_2=constituency_2441 |access-date=29 September 2021 |archive-date=9 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009011232/http://canadianelectionsdatabase.ca/PHASE5/?p=0&type=election&ID=611#page_1=ontario&page_2=constituency_2441 |url-status=live }} Library of Parliament{{cite web |title=History of the Federal Electoral Ridings, 1867–2010 |website=Government of Canada |publisher=Library of Parliament |url=https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/ea8f2c37-90b6-4fee-857e-984d3060184e |access-date=29 September 2021 |archive-date=6 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006093758/https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/ea8f2c37-90b6-4fee-857e-984d3060184e |url-status=live }}}}
{{end}}
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Znoneofthe, Above}}
Category:Candidates in the 1993 Canadian federal election
Category:Candidates in the 2021 Canadian federal election
Category:Rhinoceros Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons
Category:Independent candidates in Ontario provincial elections