In 2023, there were 26 elections across America that resulted in a tie, with another seven being decided by one vote. Pennsylvania led the nation with seven tied elections.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) announced the 2023 data on March 25, 2024. PILF researchers reported that there have been 602 ties and 146 elections decided by a single vote since the foundation began collecting nationwide information in 2002.
âThese elections illustrate that one illegal vote or error can affect the outcome of an election,â the organization said.
As part of its evidence, PILF highlighted a one-vote margin mayoral race in Wisconsin where a court ordered a new election after discovering at least two mail-in ballots were illegal. One ballot came from a person who had not asked for it, and another mail-in ballot came from a person residing in Illinois who was not registered to vote in Wisconsin.
In making his decision, the judge also cited three other mail ballot return envelopes that were accepted for counting without the required witness signatures. The violating envelopes were not noticed by recounters, the study reported.
Other Elections Voided Over Illegal Votes
In another one-vote margin contest highlighted by PILF, the Louisiana Supreme Court voided the result of an election for sheriff and ordered a new election after it found that âbeyond a doubtâ 11 illegal votes were cast and counted. The court declared that it was âlegally impossibleâ to know what the true vote should have been.
According to PILF, the court found that, of the 11 illegal votes, two individuals voted twice, four felons voted, and five absentee ballots should not have been accepted.
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âOne vote makes a difference. Ties happen. Illegal votes, mistakes, and errors shouldnât determine the winner of an election,â PILF President J. Christian Adams said in a statement accompanying the release of the report.
The nationwide statistics presented by PILF are only a portion of the occurrences of ties and elections decided by razor-thin margins in 21st century America.
As a disclaimer, the PILF report stated that âthis database is not an exhaustive or comprehensive list. There are many more tied and close elections out there.â
In conducting its decades-long study, PILF said it utilized its own team of experts and that it also relies on input from people in election jurisdictions who inform the organization of tied or very close elections in their localities. The tips are then verified and added to the report.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting states and other entities in fighting âagainst lawlessness in American electionsâ and striving to preserve the U.S. Constitution, according to its mission statement.
PILF has brought and won election integrity lawsuits in Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and several other states.
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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