Coin flips, poker hands and other crazy ways America settles tied elections

Officials with Virginia's State Board of Elections will gather in Richmond at 11 a.m. to draw a name out of a bowl. Winner gets a seat in the state's House of Delegates. Loser goes home.

The drawing will decide the 94th District race between incumbent Republican David Yancey and Democrat Shelly Simonds, who finished in a 11,608-to-11,608 vote tie.

But the random lottery isn't all that strange in the context of American politics. US states and localities have long had political tie-breaking rules in place that rely on random chance. That means drawing lots or straws, flipping coins or playing cards.

Examples aren't that hard to come by. In Florida in 2014, a Mount Dora City Council race was decided when the city clerk drew a sealed envelope with one candidate's name out of a felt top hat, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

In Alaska in 2006, a Democratic primary for a House seat was decided by a coin toss. The coin featured walruses on the heads side and the Alaska state seal on the tails side. Incumbent Carl Moses called heads, the coin came up tails, so challenger Bryce Edgmon was named the winner.

That randomness helped launch Edgmon's career. He went on to win the general election and currently serves as the Democratic Speaker of the Alaska House.

Like Alaska's walrus coin, other tie-breakers are connected to local history and tradition. A tied 1986 City Council election in Williamsburg, Virginia -- the early capital of the Virginia colony in the 1700s -- was decided by drawing names from the tri-corner hat popular in that colonial period.

Thursday's drawing between Yancey and Simonds will be decided by tie-breaking procedures laid out in a 1705 Virginia law. Both candidates' names will be placed in film canisters inside a blue and white ceramic bowl made by Steven Glass, a local artist. A board of elections member will then draw one name, and that person will be declared the new representative.

The random drawing will have major repercussions on governing in Virginia. If Yancey wins, Republicans will maintain a slim 51-49 majority in the House. If Simonds wins, the two major parties will be evenly split and will have to share power.

Still, that pales in comparison to the most famous tie in American politics during the presidential election of 1800. Thomas Jefferson and his running mate Aaron Burr tied in the Electoral College vote, as the Constitution did not distinguish votes between president and vice president.

The vote then went to the House, which voted 35 times without either candidate getting a majority. Finally, Jefferson won and became the 3rd president on the 36th vote, and Aaron Burr became the vice president.

The controversy led to the ratification of the 12th amendment to the US Constitution, which established procedures for electing the president and vice president and put in place contingencies in case of a tie.

Recent presidential elections have had close calls, too. In the 2000 presidential election, Al Gore topped George W. Bush in New Mexico by just 366 votes. If the two had tied, state law would have called for the election to be decided by a single hand of poker -- although local officials acknowledged it was a long shot.

"It's hardly likely we'll get Al Gore and George W. Bush back here for one hand of five-card stud," Denise Lamb, director of the state Bureau of Elections, told the New York Post at the time.