Counts, Recounts and ‘Bucket Draws’: 29 Tied Elections in 2024 So Far

At a time when numerous battleground states have been tied in the presidential race, an election watchdog group notes that already this year, 29 elections have ended in a tie–including one for Congress. 

The Public Interest Legal Foundation updated its Tied Elections Database in part to demonstrate the potential effect of even one illegal vote. 

Another 18 contests so far in 2024 were decided by a single vote. These elections are in primaries or in some cases local elections don’t coincide with the federal and state election day.

“If people ever think their votes don’t matter, I hope they remember these tied elections,” J. Christian Adams, president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, said in a public statement. “Every single vote matters. Just one vote could determine who wins power. Everyone eligible should register and vote this November.”

In all, including previous years’ elections, the database has 635 tied elections and 173 elections decided by a single vote. 

While a statewide tie in any state is extremely unlikely, several recent battleground polls have come out tied between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. 

An Insider Advantage poll showed Georgia was tied. A CNN poll found North Carolina was tied. An Emerson poll found Pennsylvania was tied. Another Emerson poll found a Nevada tie. Rasmussen Reports polls found a tie between the candidates in Wisconsin and Michigan.  

Notwithstanding the incredibly improbability of a statewide tie ever occurring in any contest–much less a presidential race–a highly unusual tie in a congressional primary within the most populous state in America did occur earlier this year. 

The legal foundation’s update report made no reference to the presidential race, but notes several examples of tied or close races this year. 

The tally was 30,249 votes to 30,249 votes in a House Democratic primary in California’s 16th Congressional District, a tie for second place between candidates Evan Low and Joe Simitian. Even though they finished behind Sam Liccardo–who won about 38,000, it appeared all three Democratic candidates would advance to the November general election under the state’s jungle primary system. But after a recount, Low won a second place finish by five votes. 

The Public Interest Legal Foundation further references that in Missouri, a Cottleville Township Committee race was decided by a single vote. Missouri had the largest number of ties or one-vote elections so far in 2024 at eight combined, according to the report.  

In Michigan, a Wise Township supervisor race ended in a tie and was broken by a lawsuit. The state of Michigan had five tied election outcomes this year.

Texas, New York, Colorado, and Oklahoma each had three ties in 2024.

In Tennessee, a tie in a Scott County school board race was broken by a provisional ballot. In Oklahoma, a Republican primary for Carter County sheriff tied and was decided when one of the two names was drawn from a bucket.  

The report says 28 states require ties be broken by a game of chance and 13 require a special runoff. The states of Montana, Tennessee, and West Virginia allow an executive officer to decide the winner, while the states of Nevada and New Hampshire allow a legislative body to decide. 

New Jersey is the only state lacking any mechanism for a tiebreaker, according to the legal foundation.

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