Two of the candidates running for mayor of Monroe, North Carolina, each won 970 votes. Because Burns and his opponent, Bob Yanacsek, decided not to call for a recount, state law stipulated that the election was to be determined by a coin toss.
"For the first time ever, it looks that an election this size is going to be done by a coin toss," said Robert Burns, one of the contenders, in a live broadcast. Yanacsek called heads, Burns got tails. The coin landed on the floor and the attendees shouted "don't touch it, don't touch it.” The coin landed and Burns supporters shouted “tails.” Burns celebrated with his supporters and then went over to shake Yanacsek’s hand.
"This morning didn't go as planned, obviously," Yanacsek later told voters in a video, “Don't get discouraged, we didn't lose an election. We lost a coin toss," the former police officer also said before offering to work with Burns. "It's just a coin toss.”
