Wondering how to settle an election? Ping-Pong balls will do the trick.
FacebookTwitterEmail
Mike Foreman, the mayor of Friendswood, and Julie Masters, the mayor of Dickinson, settle a runoff tie for mayor by pulling a Ping-Pong ball from a top hat.Stuart Villanueva/The Galveston County Daily News
But it doesn t stop at voting. While we ve dealt with plenty of lawmakers challenging the validity of the 2020 presidential election over the last few months, here in Texas we can choose our public officials in a much easier way: with ping pong balls.
Dickinson, a suburb about 30 miles southeast of Houston with a population of a little over 21,000, decided to settle a tie between mayoral candidates Sean Skipworth and Jennifer Lawrence with a random draw of ping-pong balls, each signed by one of the candidates from a top hat.
Mayor of American suburb chosen by pulling a name from hat
10 Jan, 2021 01:33 AM
2 minutes to read
Friendswood, Texas, mayor Mike Foreman draws a name out of a hat held by outgoing Dickinson mayor Julie Masters. Photo / AP
Friendswood, Texas, mayor Mike Foreman draws a name out of a hat held by outgoing Dickinson mayor Julie Masters. Photo / AP
Other
Imagine having the future of your town come down to a pick out of a hat.
Well, that is exactly what happened in one American suburb after each person running for mayor received the same number of votes.
The race to be the mayor of a Houston suburb ended this week with the winner s name drawn from a top hat.
Houston Police Department responds to reports of burning documents at Chinese Consulate
Some 10 years ago, people were awestruck when a small district, named Sahebgunj, in eastern India for the first time in electoral history had tossed a coin to decide the winner of a tie between two candidates for the single post of panchayat samiti members.
This time, the people of Dickinson, a city in Galveston County, Texas, within Houston, opted for a similar option while selecting their mayor. A tie between two candidates running for becoming the mayor of the Houston suburb ended this weekend after the winner s name was drawn from a hat.
Texas City Settles Mayorâs Race by Pulling Ping-Pong Balls From a Top Hat
The random drawing came after a December runoff ended with 1,010 votes each for the two candidates running for mayor of Dickinson, a Houston suburb.
Mike Foreman, the mayor of Friendswood, Texas, and Julie Masters, the mayor of Dickinson, Texas, settling a tie vote for mayor in Dickinson with a random drawing.Credit.Stuart Villanueva/The Galveston County Daily News, via Associated Press
Published Jan. 10, 2021Updated Jan. 11, 2021
There were no lawsuits, no cries of election fraud and certainly no angry mobs storming the seat of government. Instead, a tie between two candidates running for mayor of a Houston suburb was settled after their names were drawn from a top hat.
It looks like a little bit of 2020 has been brought over into 2021! How often does something like this happen? It s really been unique, Lawrence said. [It] turned into a dead tie of 1,010 votes to 1,010 votes, which adds up to 2020. We re all going, What the heck?
The candidates said Dickinson s charter didn t have plan for a tie, and because of this, state law triggers a casting of lots to decide the winner. I mean you can t make this up, nobody would believe it if you put it on TV or something, I mean, it s just unreal, said Skipworth.
He said one of the first items on his list when he s sworn in is to recruit a permanent city manager and look ahead to the next legislative session and examine any sales tax changes that could impact the city of Dickinson.