Tie in Alabama Senate Primary Means Winner Could Be Picked by Coin Toss or 'Rock-Paper-Scissors'

Election code dictates that ties will be decided by drawing of lots in the presence of Alabama’s governor and secretary of state

Alabama State Capitol
Alabama State Capitol. Photo: Taylor Hill/Getty

A political race in Alabama could be decided by a coin toss or a game of "Rock-Paper-Scissors."

After a tie was declared Saturday in a Republican primary election for a state senate seat between Jay Hovey and incumbent Tom Whatley, Alabama rules mean the winner will be chosen by lot, according to AL.com.

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said in March that it's up to candidates and the county sheriff to decide which game of chance will determine the winner.

"It could be a roll of a dice, high card, or rock-paper-scissors," Merrill said. "The sheriff is the one responsible for flipping the coin."

The race in question is in Senate District 27, which includes parts of Tallapoosa, Russell and Lee counties.

More than 16,700 votes were cast in the election, with Hovey earning 8,373 votes and Whatley finishing with one less vote at 8,372 in unofficial results.

However, the Alabama Republican Party said in a statement Sunday that an "uncounted provisional ballot in favor of Senator Tom Whatley was improperly excluded from the vote totals," according to the Montgomery Advertiser.

A state party committee, therefore, officially declared a tie.

The election code for breaking the tie calls for the drawing of lots in the presence of Sec. Merrill and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey.

Merrill said Sunday that the party chairman wanted the coin toss to happen as soon as possible but that scheduling issues might push it to the end of the week or early next week.

Back in March, Merrill addressed the unlikely scenario that later came to pass as well as his personal preference for resolving it.

"If I were in it, what I would have preferred is a best two-out-of-three attempts at the coin flip," Merrill said. "That way, you get to have one person call heads and the other person calls tails each time. And then you do a third one and that would be it."

The winner will face Democratic nominee Sherri Reese in the November election.

Related Articles