After a mayoral election in the US state of Kentucky ended in a tie, officials decided to choose the new mayor in an unconventional way: by flipping a coin.
US broadcaster ABC News reported that Mason Taylor and incumbent Greg McElfresh each won 55 votes in Butler, Kentucky, mayoral elections held on Nov. 8.
According to the report, Kentucky law states that tied elections must be broken by a “lot,” that is, randomly. Hence, the officials opted for a coin to determine who would lead the city of just over 600 inhabitants.
On November 10, the Pendleton County Sheriff flipped a coin, stipulating that if it came up heads, McElfresh would be chosen and if it came up tails, Taylor would be the winner.
The coin twirled and spun on the ground about three times and then landed on the writings and I breathed a sigh of relief.
– Mason Taylor for WCPO, a local ABC affiliate television channel
The mayor-elect, Mason Taylor, 25, is currently a member of the Butler city council. In addition, he has served as a firefighter and paramedic. Taylor said he had “detailed plans” for the city’s future.
On the other hand, he added that this is not the first time that the city has flipped a coin to determine the winner. In 2018, this method was applied in a city council election. However, Kentucky is also not the only state in the United States that determines the winner by lottery or coin toss in case of equality of votes.
According to the National Association of State Parliaments, a total of 28 states provide for the determination of the winner by lottery or “similar random methods” if the number of votes received is equal.
Source: Okchicas
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