Yesterday early afternoon I got back from a morning trip to Asda (a.k.a Walmart) and could barely walk from the bus stop on the west side of Trafalgar Square to the east side, where my flat is located.

At first my friend and I moaned about the beginning of tourist season, but then we noticed the plethora of police officers walking in groups of 3 to 6 all around the area; this we thought, is not just an increase in tourism.

It wasn’t a holiday, St. George’s day was last weekend, and May day isn’t until next Monday, so what was going on?

Turns out it was Election day.

As someone who is usually on top of the news and has lived in London over 7 months now, not knowing that it was election day produced a strange out-of-touch feeling I hadn’t known since I stepped off the tube for the first time and tried to navigate my way to my flat.

I told myself I was only out of touch with British politics because I can’t participate it in – I mean, if you can’t vote, why remember when other people can?

You can imagine my surprise when I found out I could have voted.

London, being such an international city, has progressive voting requirements for its mayoral election. Having a valid London address is all it takes to vote – no citizenship or visa required.

I was surprised. I always thought you had to be a citizen to vote in a county’s elections. But now that I think about it, it makes sense. London is one of the most diverse cities in the world – as the video on the Heathrow Express will tell you over and over again during your 20 min ride into Paddington – and it makes sense that all you have to do is live in London to get a voice in how the city is run.

So for all those who find themselves living in the international cities of the world, see if your city is following in London’s footsteps and, as P Diddy would say: rock the vote.