Dice decide Arkansas election

A game of chance has decided a city council election in Hoxie, Arkansas.

Candidate Cliff Farmer and incumbent Becky Linebaugh tied in an earlier runoff election.

The election had people talking across the state because Farmer was on a work trip during the runoff election, and didn’t make it back in time to vote.

Both candidates had 223 votes each.

“I was shocked because our votes were the same,” Becky Limbaugh said. “And I know they had a recount.”

The unusual result meant County Clerk Tina Stowers had to do some digging to find out how to break the tie.

“I’ve been county clerk for 14 years and this is my first time at this,” Stowers said. “I have never seen a tie in Lawrence County.”

Stowers checked with the Secretary of State’s office who said the tie was to be decided by drawing a lot.

“It could have been a toss of the coin,” Stowers said. “It could also have been a draw of a card, but they decided to go with a roll of the dice.”

And the tie-breaker certainly caught some attention.

A number of people showed up at the courthouse to see who would win the dice roll.

Linebaugh rolled a six and Farmer rolled four.

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