To break a tie in a House election, a Democrat and a Republican reached into a red canvas bag and each plucked out a silver-plated business card box.
Advertisement
When the election ended in a tie November 3, state law said it would be broken by a drawing of lots. He left the crowded conference room without talking to reporters.
Deep in the heart of MS, the state’s legislature, and possibly the future of the state itself, hinged on a green drinking straw: thanks to an arcane law and an improbably tied election, two candidates for a state-legislature seat were forced to literally draw straws to determine the victor. The guy who picks the box with a “long green straw” inside wins. And Eaton said Wednesday he’d honor the results of the straw draw no matter what, and wants Tullos to do the same-but Tullos has already indicated he won’t do the same and would leave his fate to the GOP-dominated House.
State officials say this is the first time an election come down to drawing straws. Tullos, an attorney from Raleigh, said before the drawing that if he lost, he meant to ask the House to seat him in January as the victor because he questions whether votes were counted fairly.
Certified returns show each candidate received 4,589 votes in the district in south central MS, a part of the state known for oil wells and watermelon fields.
Gov. Phil Bryant and Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann directed the process. After rejecting the idea of a good old-fashioned coin toss, the straw method was chosen, with 1:30pm local set as the time of reckoning.
Other chance-based tiebreakers have occurred in recent years, such as in Alaska in 2006, when candidates in a Democratic primary for a Statehouse seat broke a tie by flipping a coin. Incumbent Rep. Carl Moses called “heads”.
Senate Minority Whip William Payne, a Republican from Albuquerque, New Mexico, also won a primary race by a coin toss in 1996.
Advertisement
CT decided for breaking ties, a year following a state house election was established by a coin toss to remove chance games. The alcohol opponents won, and Graham Precinct remained dry.
