Heads or tails? Coin flip decides village trustee race
By Kyle Langellier
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HORTONVILLE, Wisconsin (WGBA) — A race for the final village trustee position for the Village of Hortonville was decided by a coin flip on Tuesday, according to the village.
Dalton Davis won a coin flip to defeat Shauna Keel after the two candidates tied with 356 votes.
“It’s like what you did as a kid to decide something,” Davis said.
The village trustee race had four candidates — Julie Arendt Vanden Heuvel, Therese Abit, Keel and Davis — fighting for three open seats.
Keel and Davis tied with 356 votes, which prompted the Village Board of Canvassers to follow State Statute 5.01(4), that states that if two or more candidates for the same office receive the same amount of votes, the winner should be chosen by lot, which means selecting a person through a random, unbiased method.
According to the village, Keel was given heads and Davis was given tails. A member of the board of canvassers flipped the coin and it was tails, electing Davis as the third village trustee.
NBC26 met with Davis the day after the election deciding toss. He told me one of the votes for Keel was his own.
“Yeah I even voted for her, just cause I know she did good last term,” Davis said.
“It was a little disappointing to see that she didn’t get in, but it came to a coin toss so I don’t know what else to tell you,” Davis said.
Vanden Heuvel and Abitz took the first two top spots, with 422 and 405 votes, respectively, earning them both spots on the board.
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