Believe It or Not, Duval County Has Done This Before
If you’re thinking this sounds like something that could only happen in Florida, you might be onto something.
Because Duval County has been here before.
Back in 2014, a Neptune Beach City Council race between Richard Arthur and Rory Diamond also ended in an exact tie.
That time, officials skipped the simple coin-flip ending and brought out numbered ping-pong balls.
Arthur drew a 12. Diamond drew a 4.
Arthur won the election.
That’s right. In this corner of Florida, local government has now been decided by both a coin toss and a game involving ping-pong balls.
At this rate, we’re about one close election away from somebody suggesting rock-paper-scissors.
One Vote Really Does Matter
As funny and downright Florida-weird as the whole situation sounds, there’s actually a pretty remarkable lesson buried beneath the absurdity.
Of the 6,324 votes cast for the two candidates, just one additional vote for either would have broken the tie.
One person deciding to vote instead of staying home.
One additional voter choosing a candidate in that race.
That’s all it would have taken.
Instead, two candidates who spent months asking people for their votes ultimately had to leave the decision to chance.
Jennifer Lagner now gets the responsibility of representing her community on the Atlantic Beach City Commission.
And Lisa Herrold will forever have one of the more unusual election stories to tell.
As for the rest of us?
The next time someone says their vote doesn’t matter, remind them about Atlantic Beach.
And maybe check your pockets for a quarter.
Only in Florida.
Sources: Duval County Supervisor of Elections, Action News Jax, Florida Statutes §105.051 and News4JAX’s 2014 election coverage.
