The two candidates received exactly the same number of votes in the ranking election.

Tied City Council competition boils down to naming from the bowl

On Thursday, hundreds of people from Portland, Maine showed up to watch an unprecedented event in the history of local elections: by drawing a name from a wooden bowl, the winner of the city council’s public seat was chosen by accident.

In the municipal elections on Tuesday, none of the four candidates for a seat on the city council won a majority of votes. Ranking selection The immediate runoff determined two candidates-Brandon Maazel and Roberto Rodriguez-tied for 8,529 votes each.

In the event of a tie, the city’s revised statutes in 2011 stipulated that “the city clerk shall publicly decide the winner by drawing lots”-which means that the winner is selected at random.

So, on Thursday morning, when people gathered in the plaza outside Portland City Hall for a public lottery to determine the winner, city clerk Katherine Jones brought an antique wooden bowl from home.

Both Mazer and Rodriguez agreed to this unique process in advance, and they confirmed that their names were printed on the same card stock. They folded the card in half and put it in the bowl, when election administrator Paul Riley turned around, avoiding his eyes.

Then he placed the bowl above Jones's line of sight so she could take out a card. After showing the candidates, she announced the winner into the microphone-Brandon Mazar. Cheers broke out from the crowd, and the two candidates shook hands and embraced.

"I am extremely proud of our campaign, and I am really grateful to everyone who stood up. It really shows that every vote is important," lawyer Mazel told Porter, Maine, after the draw. Lan's ABC is affiliated with WMTW.

Rodriguez immediately submitted a formal manual recount request, which was originally scheduled for November 9. If needed, it will continue on November 10. If the result of the draw changes, Rodriguez will become the winner.

Rodriguez, a member of the Portland School Board, told WMTW: "After such a difficult campaign season, it is a bit shocking to attribute it to chance." "But, again, you know, this is what the policy says. . This is what we are bound by, so we are here today."

"The vote will be recounted. We will ensure that every vote is counted," he added.

Ma Ze told the radio station that he supported the recount.

The new members will be sworn in on December 6, which is a historic event for the city.

Portland spokesperson Jessica Grondin told ABC News: "This is the first time anyone here remembers a tie in an election." "This must have been adopted since we used it in 2011. For the first time since the ranking selection vote, there has been a tie."

This unusual process has caused some criticism on Facebook, and commenters on the video post of the picture mockingly suggested using darts, coin toss, or rock-paper-scissors to determine the winner.

Portland is not the only place where relationships are determined by lottery. In a fiercely contested Virginia House seat in 2017, the winner was determined by drawing a name from a ceramic bowl.

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