Coin toss? Blind draw? Tied candidates in northern Minnesota might let luck decide who advances in election

DULUTH — A blind draw might be the deciding factor in which candidate for Lake County commissioner advances to the Nov. 7 general election.

Voters in this northeastern Minnesota county were evenly split between the second-place finishers in Tuesday's special election. Jack Nelson of Finland, Minn., secured the most votes with 124. Colby Abazs and Joe Baltich both claimed 99 votes and Paul B. Hartshorn had 97. Two candidates advance.

A public recount is scheduled for Aug. 18 at the Lake County Courthouse. If the candidates are still in a stalemate, grab a fedora.

"Statutes indicate that the winner is chosen by lot," County Auditor Linda Libal said. "We'll work with candidates to determine how they want to proceed. Typically, there are names on paper that are put in a hat and drawn by a neutral third party."

The special election was called to fill the District 1 vacancy left by Pete Walsh, who was in the role for about a decade before he died in January.

Abazs, of Finland, Minn., was heartened by the 30% of registered voters who turned out for a special election. He had made a lot of phone calls to encourage people to hit the polls and organized a debate with the other five candidates before the election.

"It's a great example of showing why every vote matters — every single vote counted," said Abazs, who is leery of the potential next phase: letting luck decide who advances.

This is new territory for the auditor's office; staff members have never been in a situation where candidates have tied.

"It's just really interesting and we're learning a lot," Libal said.