Non-human electoral candidates have been found in a number of countries. Often, the candidacies are a means of casting a protest vote or satirizing the political system. At other times, it is simply done for entertainment value. Electoral regulations may explicitly require candidates to be human (or equivalent wording), or they may require candidates to do things which animals cannot reasonably do (such as sign their names legibly on legal forms); most constituencies require candidates to be of the age of a legal adult, which eliminates many animals whose life expectancies usually make them too young to ever qualify. On some occasions, however, animals and virtual politicians have been accepted as candidates, and they have even won office.
Notable examples
Elected to office
In 1967, in a write-in only election, the small town of Picoazá, Ecuador, elected the foot deodorant Pulvapies as its new municipal councilman. Mayor Stubbs, a cat, was elected as the mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska from 1997 to 2017. Mayor Max, elected Mayor of Idyllwild, California
Non-elected candidates
Snæfellsjökull, a glacier in the Snæfellsnes peninsula in Iceland, was a nominee to run in the 2024 Icelandic presidential elections. The entire planet Earth was nominated by The Planetary Democrats as a candidate in the 2024 European Parliament elections. Cacareco, a rhinoceros at the São Paulo zoo, was a candidate for the 1958 city council elections with the intention of protesting against political corruption. Electoral officials did not accept Cacareco's candidacy, but she eventually won 100,000 votes, more than any other party in that same election (which was also marked by rampant absenteeism). Today, the term voto Cacareco (Cacareco vote) is commonly used to describe protest votes in Brazil. Cacareco's candidacy inspired the Rhinoceros Party of Canada, nominally led by the rhinoceros Cornelius the First. Pigasus the Immortal was a boar hog that the Yippies nominated as a candidate in the 1968 U.S. presidential election. Mr. Potato Head, a toy manufactured by Hasbro, received four votes in Boise, Idaho's mayoral election in 1985. A cat named Morris was a candidate for mayor of Xalapa, Mexico, in 2013. In 1989, regional council boundaries were redrawn in New Zealand, with an emphasis on catchments being connected. These revised maps made Whangamōmona part of the Manawatū-Whanganui Region. Residents wanted to continue to be part of the Taranaki Region, and on 1 November 1989, they responded by declaring themselves the "Republic of Whangamomona" at the first Republic Day. At every Republic Day, they vote to either keep the seating President or to vote in a new one. Since 1999, they have had Billy Gumboot the Goat (1999–2001) and Tai the Poodle (2003–2004), the latest being Murt "Murtle the Turtle" Kennard (2005–2015). In 1987, Silvio, a chimpanzee from Córdoba, Argentina, was put as a provincial deputy candidate. Tião, a bad-tempered chimpanzee, was put forward by the fictional Brazilian Banana Party (Partido Bananista Brasileiro, actually the satirical group Casseta & Planeta) as a candidate for the Rio de Janeiro mayoralty in 1988. The campaign's slogan was "Vote monkey – get monkey" (because people were tired of voting for one platform and then seeing the elected officials implementing another one). There is no official counting, because all votes were recorded as "null", but it is estimated that Tião received over 400,000 votes, coming third. New Zealand's McGillicuddy Serious Party entered a goat in a local Waiheke Island election, but their attempt to have a hedgehog stand for Parliament was unsuccessful. In 2001, a Dachshund called Saucisse (Sausage) was a candidate for municipal elections in Marseille, France. He won 4% of the vote. Eight years later, in 2009, he participated in the third season of Secret Story, the French version of Big Brother. He entered the house on Day 36. His secret is that he was a candidate in the Marseille mayoral race. To protect his secret, he entered the house with the nickname "Secret". Molly the Dog, a dachshund from Oklahoma, named as a candidate in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. United States TV host and California councilmember Charlotte Laws had a chicken named Mae Poulet who ran for vice president on the Bully ticket in the 2012 election. Hank the Cat, a Maine Coon from Northern Virginia, ran against Tim Kaine and George Allen for Virginia's Senate seat in 2012. He earned third place in the state, with nearly 7,000 votes. Tuxedo Stan, a cat from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was a mayoral candidate in the 2012 municipal elections representing the Tuxedo Party, a political movement aimed to improve the welfare of felines in the Halifax Regional Municipality, "because neglect isn't working". He has been endorsed by celebrities including Anderson Cooper. A fire hydrant ran for election multiple times 2004–2008 at the University of British Columbia, including a position on the Board of Governors, coming within 6% of being elected. Dona de Chocolate, a mascot for Mister Donut in El Salvador, ran as a presidential candidate during 2014 as part of an advertising campaign called "Partidona" to promote the 2x1 promotion during September. Dona de Chocolate challenged the other candidates to a debate in a Mister Donut restaurant in El Platillo Merliot, which was unsuccessful. Dona de Chocolate also went to the Asamblea Legislativa to give a speech, but it was also unsuccessful. Dona de Chocolate appeared as a cameo in an episode of Capitán Centroamerica series by Puya Web. AI Steve, a candidate based on generative AI, ran as an MP candidate for the Brighton Pavilion constituency during the 2024 UK general election. The policy of the candidate was based on automatic summarization of feedback provided by the voters. Businessman Steve Endacott, provided the platform and registered to be the in-person representative of AI Steve in actual parliamentary sessions in the case of it winning. In the election, AI Steve finished last of eight candidates with 179 votes, a share of 0.3%. In 1976, Marvel Comics announced that their character Howard the Duck would run in that year's election for the U.S. presidency.
Attempted or withdrawn candidates Those that were not on the ballot, in chronological order.
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