Judge Wins Election by Coin Toss

Kenneth Howard Jr. makes the right call to break a tie
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 11, 2014 11:02 AM CDT
Judge Wins Election by Coin Toss
Heads up!   (Shutterstock)

How do you decide on a new judge? In New Mexico, by coin toss, apparently. Kenneth Howard Jr. has officially won a four-year term as the McKinley County magistrate judge after he called heads in a flip versus Robert Baca, the AP reports. Both men received exactly 2,879 votes in a Democratic primary on June 3, and with no opponent on the general election ballot, the winner would take all. Since state law requires a tie to be decided by lot, the men's luck fell on a 50-cent piece. Howard got to call it since he was lower on the ballot. According to the Gallup Independent, he asked to keep his lucky coin. (More coin toss stories.)

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