A candidate for city council in Kentucky has learned that home may be where the heart is, but it’s not always where your political support lies.
The Kentucky Enquirer reports that 27-year-old Robert McDonald finished tied with Olivia Ballou for the sixth and final seat on the Walton City Council. McDonald and Ballou both captured 669 votes -- McDonald later learned that his wife, Katie, didn’t manage to vote on Tuesday.
“If she had just been able to get in to vote, we wouldn’t be going through any of this,” McDonald told the newspaper. “You never think it will come down to one vote, but I’m here to tell you that it does.”
McDonald, 27, said his wife did not want to discuss the matter.
“She feels bad enough,” McDonald said. “She worked extra hours, goes to school and we have three kids, so I don’t blame her. She woke up about ten minutes before the polls closed and asked if she should run up, but I told her I didn’t think one vote would matter.”
The rules for absentee voting in Kentucky are much more restrictive than in neighboring Ohio, so that wasn’t an option. Boone County Clerk Kenny Brown said it appears that because of the tie, the final seat on the council will be determined by the flip of a coin -- unless one of the candidates requests a recount.
“I am waiting for clarification from the State Board of Elections, but we are pretty sure the (Kentucky Revised Code) says a tie is resolved by a coin toss,” Brown said.
Ballou could not be reached for comment.
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