The mayoral election in Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, has ended in a dead heat, with candidates Robert Nelson and Halyn Roth receiving exactly 1,401 votes each.
Unofficial results published on the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website show that both candidates secured 49.77 per cent of the total vote, leaving the contest tied after all three city precincts submitted their results.
Of the remaining ballots, 13 were recorded as write-in votes.
City Officials Prepare to Determine the Winner
The Spring Lake Park City Council has scheduled a public canvassing meeting for November 9 at 5.30pm in the council chambers at City Hall.
Officials will review and compile the voting records before formally presenting the election results.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the council invited residents to attend the meeting and observe the proceedings.
City Administrator Daniel Buchholtz told CBS News Minnesota that the winner would be determined by drawing a name from a bag, in accordance with state election law.
Buchholtz said the procedure had been established in Minnesota law for a long time and described it as a fair way of resolving tied election results.
Roth Questions the Tie-Breaking Procedure
Reacting to the possibility of losing the election through a random draw, Roth said she was uncomfortable with the arrangement.
Speaking to CBS News, she said several residents had also questioned the rule and expressed a preference for holding another election.
She said she had heard from people who considered the procedure unusual and believed a revote or an alternative method should be considered.
Minnesota Law Provides for Drawing Lots
The procedure for resolving tied elections is outlined in Section 205.185 of Minnesota’s statutes.
The law states that when an election produces a tie, the canvassing board responsible for the municipality must determine the winner by lot.
The canvassing board’s clerk is then required to certify the election results to the county auditor and retain custody of the ballots and election returns.
A similar situation occurred during the 2018 Maplewood City Council election, when Nikki Villavicencio and Marylee Abrams initially recorded 5,755 votes each.
However, the official canvass subsequently showed that incumbent Abrams had secured five more votes, making the earlier coin toss unnecessary.
Close Council Race Could Lead to a Recount
The mayoral contest is not the only closely fought election in Spring Lake Park.
The city council race has also produced a narrow margin, with just 17 votes separating Eric Julien, who finished second, and Kenneth Wendling, who placed third.
According to the city council, the result could qualify for a publicly funded recount under Minnesota election law.
Section 204C.36 of the state’s statutes allows a losing candidate for a municipal, county or school district position to request a recount when the difference between their votes and those of a winning candidate is less than one-quarter of one per cent of the total votes counted for the position.
Recount Deadline Set for November 16
The possibility of a recount has also been highlighted by the 2021 special mayoral election in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.
That contest was resolved after a recount showed that Lisa Jacobson had defeated her opponent, Hollies Winston, by just two votes.
Following the November 9 canvassing meeting, eligible candidates in Spring Lake Park will have until 5pm on November 16 to submit formal recount requests.
If a recount is approved, it is scheduled to take place on November 17 at the Anoka County Courthouse.
