A Minneapolis suburb's mayoral race may come down to a coin toss as unofficial results reveal both candidates have received 1,401 votes.
Robert Nelson and Halyn Roth have both received 49.77 percent of votes as the race for mayor in Spring Lake Park, Minnesota has ended, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State website.
Thirteen of the remaining votes were write-ins as all three of the city's precincts have reported their results.
According to the Spring Lake Park City Council, they will gather the voter data and present the results of the race at a public meeting on November 9 at 5.30pm in the council chambers at City Hall.
'The canvassing meeting is open to the public! Residents are welcome to attend and observe the process,' the City Council wrote in a Facebook statement.
City Administrator Daniel Buchholtz told CBS the winner will be decided by drawing a name out of a bag.
'It's a process that's been outlined in state law for a long time and it's a process that I believe is fair,' Buchholtz told the outlet.
Roth told the outlet: 'I don't love it. I've heard from a lot of people who think that this is kind of a silly rule, that we wish we could do a revote or something else.'
Robert Nelson (pictured) and Halyn Roth, have both received 49.77 percent of the vote as the race for mayor in Spring Lake Park, Minnesota has ended, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State website. Source: Hometownsource.com
When asked about the coin toss , Roth (pictured) told the CBS: 'I don't love it. I've heard from a lot of people who think that this is kind of a silly rule, that we wish we could do a revote or something else.' Source: Facebook/Halyn Roth for Spring Lake Park Mayor
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'In case of a tie vote, the canvassing board having jurisdiction over the municipality shall determine the result by lot. The clerk of the canvassing board shall certify the results of the election to the county auditor, and the clerk shall be the final custodian of the ballots and the returns of the election,' as written in a 205.185 Minnesota Statute.
In the past, tied votes have been settled in a coin toss such as the 2018 Maplewood City Council race between Nikki Villavicencio and Marylee Abrams, when both candidates had 5,755 votes.
However, after the official canvass was announced the incumbent Abrams was revealed to be ahead by five votes which led to the original coin toss no longer standing.
The race for Spring Lake Park City Council has been a close call as just 17 votes separate candidates Eric Julien in second place and Kenneth Wendling in third place.
According to the city council, this could make the race eligible for a publicly funded recount.
'A losing candidate for nomination or election to a county, municipal, or school district office may request a recount of the votes cast for the nomination or election to that office if the difference between the vote cast for that candidate and for a winning candidate for nomination or election is less than one-quarter of one percent of the total votes counted for that office,' as written in a 204C.36 Minnesota Statue.
A recount to settle a mayoral race has not been an uncommon outcome as the 2021 Brooklyn Park's special mayoral election ended with candidate Lisa Jacobson defeating her opponent Hollies Winston with just two votes after recounting.
Following the upcoming City Council meeting on Monday, all eligible candidates will have until 5pm on November 16 to officially request a recount.
According to the Minneapolis City Council, they will gather the voter data and present the results of the race at a public meeting on November 9 at 5.30pm in the council chambers at city hall (pictured)
If a recount does take place, it will be scheduled on November 17, at the Anoka County Courthouse (pictured)
If a recount does take place, it will be scheduled on November 17, at the Anoka County Courthouse.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Robert Nelson and Halyn Roth for comment.
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