PASADENA, Texas (KTRK) — Two hundred and seventy-two votes to 272 votes: those are the totals in the race for a city council seat in Pasadena after this weekend’s runoff election.
The results are not official yet, but after the initial count, there is no winner in the race for Pasadena City Council District B — a race that fits the seat’s current officeholder, Bianca Valerio, against her predecessor, Bruce Leamon.
“It’s an odd situation. It’s certainly suspenseful. But it’s a great example of how one vote really, really, really matters,” Valerio told ABC13. “Local elections really impact us directly, and they influence what happens right outside of our front doors. I’m grateful for everybody who participated. I’m grateful for everybody who voted.”
Valerio is a two-term incumbent and the first Hispanic woman elected to the city council. Leamon held the same seat until 2021, when he did not seek reelection.
He texted ABC13 a written statement:
“We ran a good campaign focusing on the concerns of District B. I am disappointed the vote ended in a tie. Now we wait for the county to do recount and hope for a positive outcome.”
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The next step, according to the county, is for the city to canvas the results. The county will make the results official within a week. Assuming it’s still a tie, there will be a recount.
Bob Stein, an elections expert at Rice University, says circumstances come together to create an environment where ties are possible.
“It’s rare,” he said. “They occur in two places: low turnout elections, which is what this was. And they turn up in what we call down-ballot or off-year elections, which drives low turnout.”
So what happens now? If there are late or provisional ballots and they don’t break the tie, it does head to a recount, according to state law, in a runoff election.
If the recount does not resolve the tie, the tied candidates shall cast lots to determine the winner. That means they pick a card, draw straws, or potentially flip a coin.
This story comes from our news partner ABC13 Houston.