What happens if candidates for a school board seat end up in a tie?

A rarely used tiebreaker enshrined in Oklahoma law will be utilized by the Pottawatomie County Election Board after an election for a seat on the Asher Public Schools Board of Education ended in a deadlock on Tuesday.

Candidates Jacob Cole and Teri Hamilton-Tulane each received 62 votes. So, unless one of them asks for a recount, the tiebreaker process will be needed, Patricia Carter, the Pottawatomie County election secretary, told The Oklahoman.

The tiebreaker process is outlined in Title 26, Section 8-105 of the Oklahoma Statutes. At a special meeting of the county election board, the names of Hamilton-Tulane and Cole will be written on separate pieces of paper that are equal in size and of the same color. Then the pieces of paper will be folded in half and placed inside a container by the board secretary.

Then, either the board secretary or her designee will draw one of the sheets of paper out of the container, and the person whose name on that sheet of paper will be declared the winner. Then the second piece of paper will be removed from the container and shown to witnesses attending the meeting.

Carter said the law also specifies she has to give notice to the candidates via registered or certified mail and that the drawing can’t be held until at least five days after that mailing. She said Tuesday that she was sending those letters to Cole and Hamilton-Tulane that day.

The special meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday, April 10, at 5 p.m. at the Pottawatomie County Election Board’s offices at 330 N. Broadway Ave. in Shawnee. Carter said it’s the first tie vote she’s encountered since becoming the county election secretary in 2021.

Asher is located in Pottawatomie County, although the school district also serves parts of McClain County and Pontotoc County. The small district is well-known for its successful high school baseball program, which has won 45 state championships in fall and spring seasons.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma law mandates a draw to choose winner of tied board election