(ConservativeSense.com) – A local candidate in Washington State lost an election by a single ballot after failing to vote for himself. Damien Green contested a seat on the town council of Rainier, near Tacoma, but decided not to vote in his own favor because he believed it would be “narcissistic.” When the votes were counted, Mr. Green had 246, and his rival Ryan Roth had 247.
Green later told the Seattle Times that he accepted the outcome as God’s will and said he didn’t feel right voting for himself because it felt “like stacking a deck in your favor.”
Mr. Roth did vote for himself, but only after being persuaded by his wife and just a few days before ballots closed. He described his victory as “pretty insane” and used the opportunity to remind people that their vote really does count.
The two candidates agreed that a coin toss would have settled the matter if the result was equal. In the same county in 2015, Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall flipped a coin to decide who would take up the post of Tenino Mayor after the contenders finished with 136 votes each.
Wayne Fournier and Bret Brodersen contested the mayoral election in 2015 and agreed to let the decision rest on a coin toss result. Fournier selected tails and won the day. Both candidates also took the opportunity to remind voters how important it is to cast their ballot.
Mary Hall said, “A lot of people didn’t vote, which they probably wish they had.” She added that a ballot seems to count even more in such small elections. “It’s almost like your vote counts four times,” she said.
A single ballot has decided several crucial moments in American political history. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson was elected President by one vote in the House of Representatives after a tie in the Electoral College. When President Andrew Johnson faced impeachment in 1868, he was saved by a single Senate vote.
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