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 — having removed the jokers — 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 — a king of hearts — and the crowd roared. Cave Creek had finally selected its newest Council member.

“It’s a hell of a way to win — or lose — an election,” Mr. McGuire said.

Link -via Arbroath

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

Tags: Arizona, election tie

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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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
aesquire
Jun 19th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
So much better than all that messy Democracy.
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.
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.
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!
Johnny Cat
Jun 19th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
@kerrys:

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