Gila Bend Town Council Tie Resolved by Card Draw Under Century-Old Arizona Law

In the July town-council election in Gila Bend, Arizona, two candidates each received 67 votes, creating a deadlock in the 1,800-person community located about 50 miles southwest of Phoenix. State law that is more than a hundred years old requires that such a tie be settled by a game of chance. Local officials conducted the draw this week by shuffling a deck of cards; the candidate who received the higher card was awarded the council seat.

New York Times

Arizona’s century-old statute mandates a random method—often a card draw, dice roll, or similar—to resolve tied local elections. The Gila Bend case is not unique; recent elections in other jurisdictions have employed straw-drawing, plastic-egg selection in Hawaii, and basket draws, illustrating a broader pattern of chance-based tie-breakers across the United States.

New York Times

Riggs’ remarks underscore the town’s effort to maintain confidence in the outcome by ensuring the draw was conducted publicly and transparently.

New York Times

• “With everything that’s going on, you want it as open as you can possibly get it,” — Patricia Riggs

New York Times

The card-draw resolution highlights how a small frontier community applies an antiquated legal mechanism to settle modern electoral disputes, while striving for openness amid broader concerns about election integrity.

New York Times