In honour of one-week-til-election day, my top ten election-related pet peeves:

1. People who vote based on appearances (Oh, he speaks well/Oh, he looks well-groomed) without giving though to matters of policy.

2. A system that does not allow candidates to go off-message, even if it's to answer a voter's questions.

3. The fact that debates are unwatchable. If only they could NOT all talk at once.

4. People who base their strategic votes on national polls instead of riding polls.

5. People who only vote for the candidate that's leading in the polls, regardless of what they stand for, because they think their vote is wasted if it doesn't go to the person who wins.

6. People who vote for the local candidate that they like without even taking into consideration that candidate's party affiliation.

7. Every editorialist and letter-writer who has called me lazy/selfish/self-absorbed/childish/spoiled because members of my peer group don't vote. Yes, I am lazy, selfish, self-absorbed, childish and spoiled, but not because of the voting habits of my peer group! Hell, it isn't even my own voting habits that make me lazy, selfish, self-absorbed, childish and spoiled, or reflect those aspects of my personality.

8. People who don't bother to read parties' platforms and instead vote based on what they assume the platforms are.

9. People who don't consider "Can I, in good conscience, support this party I'm voting for" when casting a strategic vote.

10. The fact that most landlords don't let their tenants put up election signs. Not that I want to put up a sign myself, but it would certainly help evaluate the riding's sentiment.