Recount For Tied Marion City Council Race Happens Today

You all know the phrase that is tossed around just before an election. 'Every vote counts.' I used to think that was just a saying. But recent history has proven it to be true. Look at the history of this nation's elections and you'll see that the margin for victory has been razor thin! When a race is super close, usually the candidate that is behind will request a recount, which is their legal right. Sometimes errors are found one way or the other, but generally, the results hold fairly close. But what happens if there is an honest-to-goodness tie?

That happened on November 2nd in a race for the Marion City Council. Councilmember Randy Strnad and candidate Dale Monroe ended up tied at exactly 3,244 votes. CBS2 reports that actually Monroe led by a single vote on election night, but Strnad then took the lead after some provisional ballots were counted. Then, the Linn County Auditor's office discovered that someone had written in a vote for Monroe, and we were back to a tie.

In that case, we have a recount of all ballots cast. That recount will take place today at 7:30 a.m. in the basement of the Jean Oxley Public Service Center on 2nd Street SW in Cedar Rapids. CBS2 reports that Iowa law requires that the recount be open to the public. Observers can watch and listen, but may not participate or interfere in any way with the recount. So what happens if Strnad and Monroe are tied again after the recount?

Well, then it moves to one of the strangest moves in our democracy. The winner will be drawn at random out of a hat. Yes, the winner of an election in the U.S. can be drawn out of a hat. If that isn't the truest form of Democracy, I don't know what is.