Turnout Tuesday for the general election was low with only 11.42 percent of eligible registered voters casting their ballots, but a tie for the Pierceton town council showed why every vote matters.
Four men sought the three council seats, with Republicans Matthew Brubaker and Tom Barker receiving 71 and 63 votes respectively. However, for the third council seat, Republican Aaron Robbins and Democrat Armando “Mandy” Espinoza tied with 53 votes each.
Indiana Election Code makes it clear how the tie is supposed to be broken and by whom, according to Election Board member and Kosciusko County Republican Party Chairman Randall Girod.
Statute 3-12-9-4 states that the fiscal body is to resolve ties in local office votes.
“And, basically, the fiscal body would be the town council of Pierceton,” Girod said.
Since it must be done by Dec. 31, Girod said the present council, not the “successor” council, must resolve the tie.
“It also says, however, if a member of the fiscal body who runs for re-election is involved in the tie, and it is – Mandy – he may not cast a vote in the decision. So the other two – who would be Ron Hall and James Bumbaugh – would be eligible,” Girod said.
“If they should tie – and they’re both Democrats – then it goes to the executive, which would be the clerk-treasurer, Janet Castle,” Girod continued.
“The bottom line is, we (the election board) did our job. We’ve counted the votes. We can’t help if the votes are tied. So, it’s their responsibility to break the tie, not ours. They could still do a recount, but it’s going to come back the same count I’m here to tell you. It’s as simple as could be. It’s one precinct, it’s one town,” he said.
He said the election board would not do anything more from this point forward other than certify the results unless someone wanted a recount. If a recount is wanted, a person has so many days to file a petition for one.
“But I’m here to tell you, it’s going to be the same results,” Girod repeated.
(Story By The Times Union)
