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Coin toss rule could determine Ohio village’s tied mayoral race

Posted at 5:43 PM, Nov 09, 2019
and last updated 2019-11-09 17:43:31-05

MAGNOLIA, Ohio — A mayoral election in a small Ohio village could once again be decided by a coin toss.

The Canton Repository reports candidates Travis Boyd and Grant Downes each received 127 votes during Tuesday’s election in Magnolia, which straddles Stark and Carroll counties.

A coin toss will determine the winner if Boyd and Downes remain tied after election results are certified in two weeks.

That’s how outgoing Mayor Robert Leach got the job, winning a coin toss in 1979. Leach chose not to seek re-election after running unopposed for 9 consecutive terms.

A 1923 Peace silver dollar is believed to have been used to break election ties in Stark County since the early 1940s.

Magnolia’s population is just under 1,000. It’s roughly 73 miles (117 kilometers) south of Cleveland.