Race for Wynot School Board seat ends in a tie

HARTINGTON — If the unofficial results are correct, the third Wynot School District Board seat could come down to the flip of a coin. 

There were four names on the ballot, along with a write-in candidate, for three available school district seats.

Justin Hans led the group with 251 votes, Todd Pinkelman earned the second seat with 231 votes, and Laurie Schulte and Michael Klug tied for the third seat with 211 votes. The write-in candidate received 11 votes.

Now, an official recount will take place, but Cedar County Election Commissioner Dave Dowling said he expects the results will be the same because of the accuracy of the machine used to count ballots.

“There is seldom ever a change in it because the machine’s [success rate] is at 99.9 percent,” said Dowling.

So what will happen after the official recount, if the votes are still tied, is a game of chance decides the winner.

“What I will do is contact the two people and tell them we will have an automatic recount and that they can be present for the recount. We count the ballots with the same process that we use on election night, and if it is still a tie, it is picked by a lot and they can flip a coin, draw straws, or whatever they decide to do.”

Dowling said he can remember at least three other times he has had a tie settled in this fashion during his time as Election Commissioner. The official recount will happen sometime this week after Tuesday night, and the winner will be announced later this week.

To read more please log in or subscribe to the digital edition https://etypeservices.com/Northeast%20Nebraska%20News%20CompanyID379/