In a representative democracy, the term paper candidate is often given to a candidate who stands for a political party in an electoral division where the party in question enjoys only low levels of support. Although the candidate has little chance of winning, a major party will normally make an effort to ensure it has its name on the ballot paper in every constituency.
Paper candidates may be local party members or members from neighbouring areas, or sometimes members from central office. The main purpose of fielding paper candidates is to maintain or improve the profile of a political party. The paper candidates themselves do no campaigning and neither incur nor claim any expenses. Despite this, however, in some unusual circumstances paper candidates have actually won the election.
In Britain paper candidates are commonly fielded in different locations by all the major parties in both Local and National Elections.
Read more about Paper Candidate: United Kingdom, Canada
Famous quotes containing the words paper and/or candidate:
“There’s a long story, my friend. I never did like the idea of sitting on newspapers. I did it once and all the headlines came off on my white pants. On the level, it actually happened. Nobody bought a paper that day. They just followed me around over town and read the news off the seat of my pants.”
—Robert Riskin (1897–1955)
“If we should swap a good library for a second-rate stump speech and not ask for boot, it would be thoroughly in tune with our hearts. For deep within each of us lies politics. It is our football, baseball, and tennis rolled into one. We enjoy it; we will hitch up and drive for miles in order to hear and applaud the vitriolic phrases of a candidate we have already reckoned we’ll vote against.”
—Federal Writers’ Project Of The Wor, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)