The Lake County Clerk held a coin flip on Monday to decide one of the winners in the race for Shields Township trustee after two candidates received the exact same number of votes.
Lake County Clerk Anthony Vega said it was officially declared that two candidates received an equal number of votes for the position of Shields Township trustee in the Consolidated Election held on April 1.
The two candidates were Christopher Papas and Christopher S. Prager, who were both write-in candidates.
Each received 923 votes and a third write-in candidate, Catherine Oliver-Salbilla, received 924 votes.
Among the listed candidates on the ballot were Michelle Parnell, who received 964 votes, and Trent Andrew Swarthout, who received 932 votes.
The top four candidates in the race who received the most votes were to be chosen for the trustee positions.
Vega held a coin flip decision to choose whether Papas or Prager won the tie.
The public was invited to attend the coin flip, which was held Monday afternoon. Vega said attendees could “witness democracy in action.”
Prager ultimately won the coin flip and Vega certified the Consolidated Election results later in the afternoon.
The election marked Lake County’s first countywide implementation of vote centers, which Vega said gave voters the freedom to cast their ballot at any site throughout the county on Election Day.
Over 15% of Election Day voters took advantage of the option.
A total of 75,757 voters cast their ballots across early voting, vote by mail and Election Day — the highest turnout for a Consolidated Election in 16 years.
Vote by Mail participation reached an all-time high in a consolidated election.
“We are proud of the strides we’ve made to modernize and simplify the voting process in Lake County,” Vega said.
“This election was a testament to the power of centering the voters’ convenience along with modernizing our election infrastructure. This could not be accomplished without our scores of dedicated election judges, staff and the voters who participate in every election,” he added.