Coin flip, paper draw determine Mount Clemens school board election tiebreaker winner

A large ceremonial coin from the tiny Italian town of Pignataro Interamna; two sheets of white copy paper, and a clean, black plastic rubbish bin

A gold coin from Italy and a rubbish bin helped decide who won the tiebreaker for the final seat on the Mount Clemens Community Schools board of education after two candidates received the same number of votes in the Nov. 5 election.

Macomb County Clerk/Register of Deeds Anthony Forlini flipped the coin onto the floor in a side room at the county elections department in Mount Clemens on Wednesday for candidates Rashidah Hammond and Alex Bronson, who both received 3,496 votes.

Hammond won the toss and chose heads, while Bronson wanted tails.

After the coin toss, two pieces of paper, one stating "elected" and the other stating "not elected," were prepared by the county's chief elections clerk, folded and dropped into the bin.

Forlini then shook the bin repeatedly "like they do on TV with the Lotto."

Hammond went first, reaching into the bin — which was temporarily labeled "Mount Clemens Community Schools Tie-Breaker" — and grabbing one of the folded pieces of paper, followed by Bronson.

"All right guys, let's see what we got," Forlini said. "Oh, guys, I see the nerves."

Hammond and Bronson unfolded the papers, and Hammond smiled widely as she selected the "elected" paper, officially winning the school board seat.

"Better luck next time," Bronson said after he shook Forlini's hand and then shook hands with Hammond after she received a handshake and congratulations from Forlini.

The tiebreaker process, specifically the drawing of the slips of paper with "elected" and "not elected" is outlined in state law.

Hammond, 48, a former Mount Clemens city commissioner, said she would like the process to be different, especially since it's 2024, but "I am thankful for the process. Of course, it worked out in my favor."

She said the main issue facing the school board is increasing the student population because that brings in additional funding.

Bronson, a former city planning commission member, can request a recount. But the 34-year-old, who said he was "a little disappointed" for his loss, said a recount is "unnecessary," adding that doing so "puts just too much burden on the county clerk's office."

Bronson said he believes Hammond, who he has known for years, "did good work on (the) City (Commission) and I think she'll continue to do good work on the school board, too. So, I'm not upset by it at all."

The other three winners in the school board race were incumbents Jeanine Walker and Earl Rickman, and Paul Sheppard, per the official results that were certified Tuesday by the county's Board of Canvassers. The current terms of the school board seats expire Dec. 31.

This isn't the first time there has been a tiebreaker for a race in Mount Clemens, specifically.

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In November 2007, Gary Blash and Jack Johns tied for a seat on the City Commission, each garnering 806 votes, in what was believed to be a first for the city, officials told the Free Press at the time.

Blash won a coin flip and picked first and ended up pulling the slip with the word "elected" out of a box. He won and took office.

Later, Johns requested a recount. Johns ended up netting one more vote than Blash in the recount and won the race with 807 votes to Blash's 806 votes, forcing the seat to change hands.

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During the same 2007 election, there was a tie for a Grosse Pointe City Council seat in Wayne County, which was determined in the same fashion. The loser requested a recount, too, but withdrew after the recount revealed yet another tie — in that case with one more vote for each candidate than the election showed.

In August 2016, two votes separated the winner and second-place finisher for a partial term on the Mount Clemens City Commission. Bill Ford won the seat, with Laura Fournier coming in second. Fournier requested a recount, but Ford still ended up winning by two votes, though each candidate received one more vote than on Election Day, according to a prior Free Press article.

According to the Macomb County Elections Department, there was a recount in the Mount Clemens mayor's race in 2013, too, though the vote separation was by more than 60 votes and the results did not change from Election Day.

Forlini had to break another tie in his four years as county clerk. It was in the August primary this year for a Republican precinct delegate in Sterling Heights, with each candidate receiving 99 votes