In a bid to determine the winner of the electoral tie for the irrigation district’s board of commissioners in California, United States, two candidates determined their fates with the aid of a 20-sided “Dungeons & Dragons” dice.
The incumbent Byron-Bethany irrigation district director Larry Enos and challenger Milan “Pete” Petrovich rolled the dice — taken from the board game of someone in the office — three times to determine the winner on Dec. 7, as reported by Mercury News on the same day. Because the county’s election code did not specify how to break a tie, they resorted to rolling the dice of the fantasy tabletop role-playing game to resolve the matter.
The historical moment, the first since the irrigation district was established 100 years ago, was streamed by Contra Costa County Elections via Facebook Live on Dec. 7.
At the end of the final dice roll, Enos emerged as the winner, defeating Petrovich 51 to 45. Enos will be serving his third term for the irrigation district board.
“This is a little different — not what I expected,” Enos was quoted as saying. “Every vote counts. I was expecting a coin toss.”
Petrovich, who failed to defeat the incumbent director, was not disappointed with the result. Rather, the challenger found the tiebreaker amusing.
“When I’m done, I’m leaving — win or lose,” Petrovich said in the report. “I won’t have to worry about it. I think this is funny myself.” Kate Matriano/JB
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