After thousands of ballots were cast, a city council race in Madison ended in a tie—and one in Milwaukee resulted in a near-tie.
Noah Lieberman could have used one more vote—or a little luck. But the Madison Common Council candidate accepted his defeat with grace as his opponent came out on top after last Tuesday’s election tie.
Yes, a tie. Lieberman and Isadore Knox, Jr. each received 1,384 votes from residents of District 14.
According to local news reports, the tie-breaker to decide the election involved writing each candidate’s name on a slip of paper, placing the papers in a bag, and having someone from the Board of Canvassers pull out one of the slips. This is how Knox won.
Lieberman did not make any false claims of fraud, incite protests, or blame elections workers. Instead, he simply posted a message along with a picture of himself, hanging his head in the aftermath of the result.
“So, I’m pretty crushed right now (though you can probably tell that from the pic). But it is what it is. I will continue to fight for what’s right, especially when it comes to our affordable housing crisis,” Lieberman wrote.And in case you didn’t know, our clerks and poll workers are superheroes.”
The Madison City Clerk’s office used the rare tie to highlight the importance of voting.
“Every vote truly matters. Please remember to vote in every election,” the account wrote in a tweet.
Elsewhere in the state,Milwaukee’s District 1 Common Council race didn’t end in a tie, but was decided by a razor-thin 17 vote margin that gave Andrea Pratt a victory over former state Rep. David Bowen—2,577 to 2,560.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bowen conceded Thursday morning, reiterated his confidence in the city’s election workers, and also pledged to stay engaged.
Similarly close elections could be seen in school referendums. Spring Valley saw a school district request lose by only nine votes, while a Pecatonica referendum for $18.8 million passed by a mere 14 votes.
If nothing else, these narrow margins should be a worthwhile reminder that EVERY vote matters, especially in local elections.
Pat Kreitlow The Founding Editor of UpNorthNews, Pat was a familiar presence on radio and TV stations in western Wisconsin before serving in the state Legislature. After a brief stint living in the Caribbean, Pat and wife returned to Chippewa Falls to be closer to their growing group of grandchildren.
