From Allen Pincus

Barneveld

To the Editor: 

More than you might think. Just this past spring seven local elections in Wisconsin ended in a tied vote and in Wauwatosa a Common Council seat was won by a single vote. (Wisconsin Public Radio, April 19, 2022. See wpr.org for details.) According to state statute, when two candidates receive the same number of votes, the winner is chosen at random, for example by flipping a coin or selecting a high card from a deck of cards. Most states use a method similar to Wisconsin’s in cases of a tied vote, while others hold new elections or use other means of selecting the winner (National Conference of State Legislatures).

True that my vote never determined the outcome of an election. But that WPR news report reminded me that it actually could. And how would I feel if I skipped an election in which the candidate, whose stance on issues I favored, lost by a single vote or the flip of a coin? So I will continue finding out about each candidate and keep voting in every election.