This is how they’ll break a tie in two Whatcom city council races
City council races in Sumas and Ferndale will be decided by a coin toss after both hand recounts showed a tie on Tuesday from the results of the November general election.
“Yes, it’s true that both Ferndale and Sumas are tied and will be decided by a coin flip,” Chief Deputy Auditor Diana Bradrick told The Bellingham Herald in an email Tuesday. “That will take place tomorrow (Wednesday) at the Canvassing Board meeting to certify the results of the recount.”
In Sumas, Deborah Morgan and Todd Daniels each had 176 votes. A hand recount showed them still tied Tuesday, Bradrick said.
In Ferndale, incumbent City Council member Teresa N. Taylor was trailing challenger Paul Shuey by one vote, 1,928 to 1,927. But the recount showed them tied on Tuesday.
Bradrick said that during the recount, elections workers found a ballot that hadn’t been scanned and it contained a vote for Taylor.
This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 5:00 AM with the headline "This is how they’ll break a tie in two Whatcom city council races."
