The outcome of a local school board race in Mount Clemens, Michigan, boiled down to chance as Rashidah Hammond and Alex Bronson, who had received an exact tie of 3,496 votes each, had to rely on the flip of a coin and a random drawing to determine the winner. WWJ Newsradio reported that Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini found the situation "a little unusual," as the tie held steady through the canvassing process.
The mandated tiebreaker involved a coin toss to decide who would draw first from a bin containing slips of paper marked "elected" or "not elected." Hammond won the coin toss and subsequently drew the slip that named her the elected school board member. "What better way than take a 50-50 chance as to whether you're gonna win or lose," Forlini remarked, highlighting the fairness and cost-effectiveness of the tiebreaker, as per WWJ Newsradio.
Underlining the significance of each vote, Forlini used a coin with sentimental value for the toss, a gift from the mayor of his father's hometown in Italy, telling ClickOnDetroit, "I was actually looking for a quarter originally. Who carries change anywhere?" The unique process aligns with Michigan's Election Law Act 116 of 1954, which specifies that a drawing by lot determines the winner in such tied races.
According to Josh Pasek, a University of Michigan professor, per ClickOnDetroit, employing a draw for breaking a tie is pretty reasonable and not an uncommon practice. While Bronson, who did lose the draw, expressed disappointment, he was reconciled to the race's outcome, demonstrating a level of grace in defeat by shaking hands with Hammond after the draw. Bronson has the option to request a recount until Friday (Nov. 22). If no recount is requested, Hammond will take her seat on the school board in December.
