A mayoral race in the Minneapolis suburb of Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, is headed for a potential coin toss after unofficial results revealed a perfect tie between the two leading candidates, Robert Nelson and Halyn Roth. Both candidates received 1,401 votes, representing 49.77 percent of the total ballots cast, with 13 write-in votes also recorded.
The Spring Lake Park City Council is scheduled to convene a public canvassing meeting on November 9 to formally present the election results. City Administrator Daniel Buchholtz confirmed to CBS that if the tie remains after this official tally, state law dictates the winner will be determined by drawing a name from a bag.
"It's a process that's been outlined in state law for a long time and it's a process that I believe is fair," Buchholtz stated. Halyn Roth expressed reservations about the method, telling CBS, "I don't love it. I've heard from a lot of people who think that this is kind of a silly rule, that we wish we could do a revote or something else."
Minnesota Statute 205.185 outlines the procedure for tie votes in municipal elections, stating, "In case of a tie vote, the canvassing board having jurisdiction over the municipality shall determine the result by lot." This method has precedents, including a 2018 Maplewood City Council race where a coin toss was initially planned but ultimately averted by a small margin revealed during the official canvass.
In a separate but related development, the race for the Spring Lake Park City Council also saw a close outcome, with only 17 votes separating candidates Eric Julien and Kenneth Wendling. This narrow margin makes the council race potentially eligible for a publicly funded recount, as defined by Minnesota Statute 204C.36, which allows for a recount if the vote difference is less than one-quarter of one percent of the total votes counted.
Should a recount be requested for the City Council seat, it would be scheduled for November 17 at the Anoka County Courthouse. Candidates have until 5 p.m. on November 16 to officially request a recount.