Spring Lake Park mayoral race ends in exact tie

Spring Lake Park's mayoral race ended in an exact tie, with candidates Robert Nelson and Halyn Roth each receiving 1,401 votes, meaning the winner will now be chosen by random drawing at City Hall on Monday, November 9.^[1]

Under Minnesota law, tied elections must be decided "by lot," so city officials will conduct a name drawing during the Spring Lake Park City Council meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Monday to determine who becomes the next mayor for a two-year term.^[1] There were also 12 write-in votes cast in the race, and Roth has already said that if he loses the drawing, he plans to request a publicly funded hand recount, which state rules allow within seven days when the margin is 0.5% or less.^[1]

The deadlock capped a closely watched contest in the Anoka County suburb, where voters went to the polls Tuesday to pick a mayor for the next two years.^[1] Initial counts showed the race was extremely tight, but by the time all ballots were tabulated, Nelson and Roth had landed on the same total, an outcome rare enough that state statute spells out the unusual tiebreaker process rather than triggering a new election.^[1]

City and county election officials will now prepare for two stages: Monday's drawing that will decide who is sworn in as mayor, and the possibility of a recount that could follow if the losing candidate invokes his right to one.^[1] A recount requested under these conditions would be conducted by hand and paid for with public funds, adding at least several more days of uncertainty before Spring Lake Park residents know definitively who will lead their city.^[1]

1. FOX 9