Dice roll settles tie in small Wisconsin town election

An election in a small Wisconsin town came down to a literal roll of the dice.

After Rob Zoschke and Nate Bell received 256 votes each to be the Sister Bay Village Board president, the race went to a tiebreaker.

Village clerk Heidi Teich told the candidates the election will be settled via a game of chance as per the state election code.

The dice rolled 6-2 in Mr Bell’s favour knocking out incumbent Mr Zoschke.

“It’s drawn a lot of interest because it’s such an unusual thing,” Ms Teich told the BBC. “For it to be settled with a children’s game is kind of unique.”

After voting ended, the village clerk sent an image of the final tally to both candidates.

“Am I seeing this right?,” Mr Bell remembers thinking upon seeing the 256-256 count.

A dice roll was but one of the options a three-member board of canvassers considered.

Pulling names from a hat, cutting a deck of cards, drawing straws, or flipping a coin were among the other possibilities.

But the canvassers ultimately decided a dice roll was the fairest method.

“They felt that if you flip a coin and a candidate calls one side, the other candidate has no option but to take the other side,” Ms Teich said. “In a dice roll, both get to participate in some manner.”

Neither candidate was able to attend the roll in person, so two canvassers rolled in their stead. Mr Zoschke watched the odd event via Zoom.

Half a dozen supporters reached out to Mr Zoschke lamenting the loss. One regretted that their teenage daughter was unable to cast a ballot due to an out-of-town doctor’s appointment. Another could not get off work before the polls closed.

“But I have to believe my opponent received the same calls,” Mr Zoschke said in his friendly Wisconsin accent.

He said he had no antipathy toward the process. He did, however, note that 78 voters curiously chose not to select either candidate.

Mr Zoschke has no intention of asking for a recount.

“I don’t get hung up on a vote here or a vote there because there were still 256 people that voted for the other guy,” he said. “I’m at peace.”

Mr Bell asked to keep the dice as a souvenir and reminder of life’s unpredictability.

“It’s too soon now, but I hope someday Rob and I can get together and have some charity event rolling dice off,” Mr Bell told the BBC.

Best known for being home to a marina and a restaurant with goats on its sodded roof, the tie is one of the more exciting things to happen in the little town of 1,160 near the Canadian border.

“I never would have dreamed we’d get this much attention up here,” Ms Teich said.