Surrey council candidate Jesse Johl drops bid to add “AA” to appear first on ballot

Surrey council candidate Jesse Johl has abandoned his attempt to add “AA” to his last name in an effort to appear at the top of the alphabetically ordered civic-election ballot.

Johl, who is campaigning with the Surrey Now slate, filed nomination papers as “Jesse AAJohl.” Surrey’s chief election officer sought a court ruling after rejecting the name. In a Provincial Court affidavit, Gib van Ert said he found no online evidence that “Jesse AAJohl” was Johl’s usual name and cited other instances in which he used “Jesse Johl.”

A fast-tracked hearing had been scheduled for Friday, Sept. 18, several weeks before the Oct. 17 election. Johl agreed to have “Jesse Johl” printed on the ballot, avoiding a judicial decision. He said the matter was resolved voluntarily and that there was no point spending time in court with four weeks remaining in the campaign.

Johl said alphabetical ballot ordering is unfair and should be randomized, noting that some people use their maiden names. It is his first campaign for Surrey council. He ran as Jesse Johl in Vancouver’s 2018 civic election. The Surrey matter was resolved without Johl paying costs sought by the city’s legal team.