There's always a group of people out there that you cannot convince to participate in the electoral process because they've already decided their vote doesn't count. A bizarre election in Arkansas continues to prove those people wrong. Or can be wrong. Because every now and then, every vote does indeed count, and one alderwoman is returning to her job precisely because of one vote . . . or rather the lack thereof.
The papers say Hoxie City Council incumbent Becky Linebaugh won her race last week in a runoff election in which her opponent Cliff Farmer missed the vote. Because he didn't cast a vote for himself, the vote on election day turned out to be a tie.
But give Mr. Farmer credit for trying. It's not like he just threw his hands in the air and let fate make the decision. The man went to the polls--only after they'd closed during the early voting period. And his return flight to Arkansas touched down too late on election day for him to make it to the polls. In his words, Mr. Farmer "misjudged the time." (Always in a hurry, never stop to worry, don't you see the time flashin' by?)
But he still had a chance to win. Imagine a race in which both the general election and runoff fail to elect a candidate. That's what happened. And under an Arkansas law that's about as fair as can be, if a runoff results in a tie, the contest is settled with a game of chance. So Mr. Farmer and Alderwoman Linebaugh gathered together to roll some dice. He rolled a four, and she rolled a six, claiming victory.
It's a story that captured national headlines, and should have. The Hoxie City Council race resulted in attention from outlets like NBC News and The New York Times. Were it not for the game-of-chance election, the city council race in a town of less than 3,000 wouldn't have registered on anyone's radar outside of Hoxie. (I'm all sixes and sevens and nines.)
So let this be a lesson to those who believe their votes don't count. Recent elections in Florida should be enough to prove otherwise. And if not, you have the Hoxie City Council runoff election this year as evidence. For the record, in a Siloam Springs board of directors race last year, a deck of cards was used to determine who would go to a runoff election. Next on the playlist: Kenny Rogers.
Editorial on 12/17/2018