DICKINSON, Texas – Sean Skipworth was elected Thursday night as the new mayor of Dickinson after an unusual finale. His name, which was scribbled on a white ping pong ball, was selected out of a hat.
After the general election in November, Jennifer Lawrence and Skipworth, both vying to be the next mayor of Dickinson, advanced to a Dec. 15 runoff, which ended in a tie. A recount Tuesday confirmed that each candidate received 1,010 votes of the 2,020 votes that were cast.
Texas law allows for certain races that are tied after a second election to be decided by the “casting of lots.” Basically, that means any game of chance. In this case, the names of each candidate will be placed in a hat. The name that is drawn from the hat will be the winner.
The drawing happened at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Dickinson City Council Chambers, where the mayor of neighboring Friendswood will draw the name.
While this is an atypical way of deciding an election, it’s not unheard of in Texas. Some races have been decided by other games of chance such as flipping a coin or drawing cards.