Tie vote in Fall River schools race

Once again a local race proves every vote counts.

Two candidates tied for one of three positions up for election on the Fall River Joint Unified School District board of trustees.

Ignacio “Iggy” Venegas and Janelle Howes tied for the third open seat with 754 votes each in the Nov. 3 election it was learned following the official final count released Tuesday by the Shasta County election department.

Incumbents Randy Oller and Teri Vigil won the other two trustee positions, garnering 1,107 and 1,014 votes respectively.

The winner will be determined by lot, such as a the toss of a coin or drawing the high card from a deck of 52 playing cards, as noted by the state election code below.

California Election Code 10551(b)

If a tie vote makes it impossible to determine which of two or more candidates has been elected, the county elections official shall notify the governing body of the district thereof, and the governing body shall forthwith notify the candidates who have received the tie votes to appear before it either personally or by representative at a time and place designated by the governing body.

The governing body shall, at that time and place, determine the tie by lot and the results thereof shall be declared by the governing body. The candidate so chosen shall qualify, take office and serve as though elected at the preceding general district election.

The Fall River race wasn’t the only tie in Shasta County. Two candidates for the Bella Vista special district tied with 203 votes each and the winner will, likewise, be determined by lot. A third tie occurred among candidates for the Indian Springs School District board of trustees in Big Bend, but it occurred between the fourth and fifth place finishers of a three-open-post race and will have no bearing on the final winners.

The three winners in the Indian Springs race are Fred C. Newell with 49 votes, Joyce Hebert with 41 votes, and Nick Adams with 33 votes. Capturing 24 votes each are Guy “Mick” Gore and Douglas Engles.

Cathy Darling, Shasta County clerk and registrar of voters, noted there has been a tie in at least one race every odd year election since 2003 in Shasta County.

The Nov. 3 election resulted in 20,161 voters casting ballots or 21 percent of the 94,826 registered voters in Shasta County. Of those who voted, 15,013 decided to vote by mail or absentee and only 5,148 going to the polls on election day.