In the spring of this year, Petros Krommidas went for a swim and never returned. The months since have been a fight to determine whether or not a man who is missing at sea can hold office.

To summarize, the 29-year-old Krommidas was running as a Democrat. After he disappeared, the party tried to field a replacement — only for local Republicans to take them to court. A judge ruled that, as Krommidas was technically simply “missing” and not declared deceased, his name must stay on the ballot.

Now, party officials in the area are asking people to vote for the missing man, hoping that if he wins, they can legally trigger a new election.

People polled about the issue seem to think it’s unfair (no idea why), but the Democrats don’t really have another option but to run a guy who may or may not still be alive.