Sister Bay is a village of about 900 permanent residents on the shores of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin’s touristy Door County.
It’s notable for its marina (photo below), demographics (few children, mostly old people), and its recent election for village board president, which made international news (see BBC story here).
Both candidates got 256 votes. When that happens, Wisconsin law specifies the election is to be decided by drawing lots, or in this case, a dice roll. The incumbent lost.
One of his supporters let him know he was sorry his daughter couldn’t vote because of an out-of-town doctor’s appointment. Another couldn’t get off work in time to vote. And 78 people who did vote “curiously chose not to select either candidate.”
In a normal election a 13.2% non-vote rate would seem strange. Maybe these candidates are really unpopular? But given Sister Bay’s demographics, maybe several dozen residents thought they were filling out a Medicare form, and didn’t check any boxes because they couldn’t find their doctor’s name there.
He practices out of town, too.
