Colp, Illinois Will Decide Mayor’s Race With a Coin Flip
I'm sure the very first question that comes to mind is "Where the h*** is Colp, Illinois?" Good question, but next time, let's watch the language. Colp, Illinois is almost exactly 367.2 miles south of Rockford, or about a 5 hour, 20 minute ride down I-39 to I-57.
The next question might be: "Really?" Yes, really. And not just because flipping a coin for elected office is fun for the whole town, but because it's also following Illinois law.
Colp is a village in Williamson County, with a population of between 200-300, according to the 2000 census. You'd think that with only 200 or so people in town, you'd get a voter-turnout of nearly one hundred percent, right? Nope. The two candidates for mayor tied with 11 votes each.
From Fox News:
Candidate Tammy O’Daniell-Howell is a lifelong resident of Colp, Illinois and has been the town clerk since 2009. She decided to run for village president to honor her father, the village’s former mayor. O’Daniell-Howell’s competition is Southern Illinois University alum, Bryan Reikena, who describes his occupation as “geek.” Both candidates expressed disappointment in the fact that only 29 out of 250 registered voters in the village case their ballots in this election.
Since Illinois law calls for a coin-toss resolution to a situation like this, the coin goes up in the air to decide who wins on April 20th.
How hard can determining something by a coin-toss be? Very.