Coin flip could decided Isleton City Council race
ISLETON - It's all tied up in one small town in Sacramento County. Just more than a week after the midterm election, Isleton has a city council seat up for grabs, and candidates David Kent and Aleida Suarez have exactly the same number of votes.
So how will this be decided?
"I care far more about serving than winning," Kent said.
Both candidates have 50 votes each.
"I just want to make sure that this comes out honestly," Kent said.
Isleton is two square miles in size and home to roughly 700 people, most of whom are kids who can't cast a ballot — but candidates plan to represent everyone. Though, it's unclear when someone will win.
"What's being tied isn't even clear. Did people not vote?" Kent asked.
CBS13 reached out to Isleton City Manager Chuck Bergson who said, for now, residents will have to wait.
"We called the county elections office. Countywide, there are over 140,000 [ballots] yet to be counted. We believe there's several City of Isleton ballots in there," he said.
Sacramento County's elections office will have until the beginning of December to certify all votes, at which point Isleton may have a clear winner — but if not, what's next?
"It's completely unprecedented. I don't think anyone has an idea," Kent said.
In the event of a tie, the State of California Election Code 15651 says jurisdictions have options, including holding a run-off election, which would cost Isleton, or summoning the two candidates to city hall to flip a coin.
The city manager said a run-off election will likely be the best option but could cost more. Whatever decision is made, Bergson said it will be fair.
"We believe in the election system. The city has had elections for 100 years," Bergson said.
We did reach out to Suarez several times for this story. We did not hear back by the time of publishing.
