Election Decided by Luck of the Draw

By Miss Cellania in Politics on Jun 19, 2009 at 11:08 am

A Cave Creek, Arizona city council race ended in a tie, with both candidates receiving 660 votes, confirmed by a recount. So they decided the winner by drawing cards!

Adam Trenk and Thomas McGuire, both in blue jeans and open-collar shirts, strode nervously into Town Hall with their posses. There stood the town judge. He selected a deck of cards from a Stetson hat and shuffled it β€” having removed the jokers β€” six times.

Mr. McGuire, 64, a retired science teacher and two-term incumbent on the Town Council, selected a card, the six of hearts, drawing approving oos and aws from his supporters.

Mr. Trenk, 25, a law student and newcomer to town, stepped forward. He lifted a card β€” a king of hearts β€” and the crowd roared. Cave Creek had finally selected its newest Council member.

β€œIt’s a hell of a way to win β€” or lose β€” an election,” Mr. McGuire said.

Link -via Arbroath

(image credit: Joshua Lott/The New York Times)


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  1. chrome
    Jun 19th, 2009 at 11:52 am

    thats awesome! no bickering, no revote. straight forward high card wins. nice and simple. a refreshing breath of fresh air this day in age of overly complicated politics.

  2. OddNumber
    Jun 19th, 2009 at 11:59 am

    I wonder who came up with drawing cards. Why not just flip a coin?

    Smalls towns are quirky and I’m surprised the newcomer to town was able to gather as many votes as the incumbent local guy.

  3. Johnny Cat
    Jun 19th, 2009 at 12:11 pm

    Not surprising, as it’s Cave Creek. A very cool little town just north of Phoenix, it’s a great place to grab a bite to eat, at the Horny Toad, or The Satisfied Frog. Don’t forget to visit the giant sundial!

  4. horned_one24
    Jun 19th, 2009 at 12:58 pm

    Why cant Norm Coleman and Al Frankin do this in Minnesota. This is by far the best way to handle this situation. Very cool.

  5. Dave
    Jun 19th, 2009 at 4:32 pm

    I think we’d probably end up with a better bunch running the show in Washington, DC if all federal elected positions were filled this way. Never mind the vote, just draw cards/straws/roll dice/flip a coin/whatever. What we’re doing now doesn’t seem to be working very well.

  6. aesquire
    Jun 19th, 2009 at 4:46 pm

    So much better than all that messy Democracy.

  7. Dru
    Jun 19th, 2009 at 4:54 pm

    Is this even legal? I don’t know of any legal precedent that would allow the decision of a elected official to be decided like this. Kind of defeats the purpose of voting, even if the first vote as a tie.

  8. kerrys
    Jun 19th, 2009 at 4:57 pm

    The Arizona constitution merely states that tie vote be decided by chance. The local site choses the game.

    The sundial is in Carefree. Carefree is a small town just to the east of Cave Creek.

  9. dooflotchie
    Jun 19th, 2009 at 9:13 pm

    Aw, it would have been much cooler if they’d settled it with a match of rock-paper-scissors!

  10. Johnny Cat
    Jun 19th, 2009 at 9:49 pm

    @kerrys:

    Yeah I always just associate the two freely in my mind. :)

  11. Legidias
    Jun 21st, 2009 at 12:43 pm

    Wont really matter if it legal or not. All that would have to happen is the two candidates agree that the loser drops out.

    Mmmmm political loopholes


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