Voters in Penetanguishene are looking to a galaxy far, far away for inspiration in this federal election.
Nic Gorissen has been busy building election signs in his garage. The leader of this party is a familiar name, typically associated with the dark lord of the Sith.
Gorissen decided he would make parody election signs to put all over town after being pestered by several parties to vote for their candidates.
“I think it was about the shaming that’s going on to non-voters, saying ‘get out there and vote, you can make a difference.’ I just want people to know that it’s not about laziness, it’s about hopelessness, so I wanted to show that I’m not lazy about voting,” says Gorissen.
Over the past few days, he's noticed that the signs have gone viral. They're receiving media attention from all over the country and has people on social media begging for a sign to put on their own lawns.
“It’s already way bigger than it should be. If anything it’s raising awareness of the whole thing that’s going on.”
Andrew Haarer has a lot to do with the sign’s success. He convinced Gorissen to let him put one up in front of his house – right beside a very popular intersection in Penetanguishene.
“Everybody’s sharing it and taking it and everything else. It’s going huge,” Haarer says.
People in town think Gorissen's signs are a hoot and some even question if Darth Vader could be a good fit in the House of Commons.
“I think it’s a good parody of our government’s status,” one resident said.
“And I’d vote for him. If the states have Donald Trump, than we can have Darth Vader,” says another resident added.
Gorissen and his friends say this is just the beginning, and they hope to make more signs to go up in town, and give people a rare reason to smile during a federal election campaign.
