In Runnells, a city council seat will be decided by drawing a name from a hat after a rare tie between Corey Walker-Zepeda and write-in candidate Jake Dingman.
RUNNELLS, Iowa — What if your city council election was decided by a draw of the hat? For the people of Runnells, that might be the case.
Two vacancies on the Runnells City Council led to a special election with a surprising 28% voter turnout.
"We had one person running for a four-year term. They received 37 votes. We had 43 write-in votes and one candidate got 37 votes as well," said Polk County Auditor and Elections Commissioner Jamie Fitzgerald
Polk County Auditor and Elections Commissioner Jamie Fitzgerald explained that although Corey Walker-Zepeda ran unopposed in one of the council seats, he tied with write-in candidate Jake Dingman, each receiving 37 votes. Six additional write-in votes went to different individuals.
Under Iowa Code 50.44, that means the winner will be decided by the Polk County Board of Supervisors, who will pick a name out of a hat, giving both candidates a 50/50 chance.
Dingman has never declared his candidacy, but if the odds are in his favor and he chooses to accept the position, he will be the next Runnells councilmember.
For those feeling this is undemocratic, Fitzgerald said it's a good example of why showing up to vote is important.
"This is that one voter that doesn't come in and vote, the one voter that waited too long to get out and make their voice heard, that didn't ask for the absentee ballot," Fitzgerald said.
Dingman served a previous term as a councilman and resigned in 2025. Both Dingman and Walker-Zepeda declined to comment.
It's not the only surprising result from yesterday. No one ran for an open two-year council seat, but Jay McCrea won with 37 write-in votes to 23 separate write-ins.
"We'll try to contact him to let him know that he has, you know, potentially been elected, and then there's a process if he doesn't want to serve that he'll have to go through the city of Runnells," Fitzgerald said.
Should McCrea not want the position, a new special election could be called to fill the role.
McCrea declined an interview with Local 5, but said he plans to "think on it a little more this week" before he decides whether or not to take the position.
The Polk County Board of Supervisors is set to pull that name from the box on Tuesday, July 14.