People are laughing at Toronto's ridiculously confusing election ballot

Over 100 names have thrown their hats in the ring to replace John Tory at Toronto's top job, and it looks like voters will have quite a bit of light reading to do when the time comes to cast their ballot for the city's next mayor in the upcoming June 26 by-election.

People are getting their first glimpse of a ridiculously long ballot, packing the names of 102 different candidates onto a lengthy sheet of paper that seems to have required four folds just to fit in an envelope.

None of you are ready for this Toronto mayor ballot pic.twitter.com/ADOoq4DrNt

— Max Hartshorn (@MaxsWebBlob) May 25, 2023

The length of the ballot has drawn ridicule on social media, with one comment even comparing it unfavourably to the comically lengthy receipts at U.S. pharmacy chain CVS that have been elevated to meme status in recent years.

Toronto Mayor ballot - competing with iconically long CVS receipts

— Mª®t¡ñ Pմʝძმƙ 🇨🇦🇵🇱 (@MartinPujdak) May 25, 2023

Another commenter jokes that the absurd amount of paper being used for these massive ballots could be a factor in the City's recent Canada Day funding debacle.

😱😱no wonder they can’t afford Canada Day!

— lyndsy (@lyndsy11993653) May 25, 2023

Tory's resignation amid scandal in February 2023 seems to have emboldened many candidates who would otherwise not dare run against the longtime mayor. Still, one Twitter user jokes that this could all be part of some bigger plot to deliberately confuse the masses.

I’m pretty sure there’s some sort of nefarious plot behind this.

— Karen M Cronin 🇨🇦 (@KarenMCronin) May 25, 2023

And confuse it shall, as some of the leading candidates may have trouble standing out in the mix. One example is former police chief Mark Saunders, whose name falls 84th on the list, and is placed immediately after another candidate named Lyall Sanders.

It is alphabetical

— Dust Bin Dude 🚛🗑👷‍♂️ (@MichaelH3125) May 25, 2023

But the most common theme among comments is confusion over the supposed canine candidate who was permitted to run.

Where's the dog??

— Shelley (@shelley_rohar) May 25, 2023

Molly, a rescue dog, is, in fact, represented on the ballot, but appears under her human companion's name, Toby Heaps.

The dog’s name is Molly, but apparently to support Molly one must vote for her owner, Toby Heaps. pic.twitter.com/Pwjk9Dh6wn

— John Toogood (@toog416) May 25, 2023

With so many names to choose from, a few comments wonder why a ranked balloting system is not being considered for this and future mayoral elections.

You have all of these candidates to choose from, but you're forced to choose only one because of First Past the Post. That's brutal!

— Marco (@MarcoRossi1989) May 25, 2023

Voters will get their chance to cast one of these lengthy ballots on June 26.