The primary election in the state of Oregon, USA, was decided by a coin toss to determine the winning candidate, according to state law, which stipulates that a tie in votes be resolved by a draw.
The primary election in Oregon's 8th district, located in Eugene and known as a Democratic stronghold, saw no Republican candidates on the ballot, limiting the competition to write-in votes.
The two leading candidates among the 103 nominees were Democratic candidates Lisa Fragala and her previous opponent Doyle Canning. Each received 7 votes.
According to state law, a tie is broken by a "draw," which in this case means using dice or conducting a coin toss.
Luke Ballant, the state's deputy director of elections, organized the draw, inviting an official from the state secretary's office to act on Fragala's behalf, who chose "heads" when the coin was tossed.
However, the result was the opposite, granting Canning the nomination. But there was another hurdle, as the state's "sore loser" law prevents Canning from accepting the nomination because she had already lost the Democratic primary.
Fragala will now be the sole candidate on the ballot in November unless the Republicans call for a district convention to select a nominee.
Canning said she was happy when she heard about her primary win but praised the Secretary of State's office for following the procedures according to the law.
In her statements to the "Capital Chronicle," Canning said: "Although it's just seven votes, it's great to see the laws and procedures followed to the letter."
She noted the Republican Party should take advantage of this experience and ensure a candidate is chosen in the next election cycle.
She concluded: "The lesson here for any political party is the necessity of presenting a candidate, and I'm confident that if the Republicans had presented a candidate, they would have received more than seven votes."
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