SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The winner of the Morgan County Council District 3 primary election will be determined by a coin toss on Thursday, according to Geoffrey Fattah, Utah State Courts communications director.

In a “rare legal event,” Morgan County Clerk’s Office officials said candidates Jared Andersen and Cindy Carter both received 541 votes in the primary election.

Judges will meet at the Morgan County Council chamber Thursday at 5:30 p.m. to determine the winner. They can choose a method for deciding the winner; under Utah state law, other options beyond a coin toss include drawing straws or drawing names out of a hat.

Fattah said a perfect tie hasn’t occurred in at least a generation. The tiebreaker was pushed back to Thursday because either candidate could have called for a recount before Tuesday evening.

The entire process is dictated by Utah Code 20A-9-403(6)(b):

When a tie vote occurs in any primary election for any county office, the district court judges of the district in which the county is located shall, at a public meeting called by the judges and in the presence of the candidates involved, select the nominee by lot cast in whatever manner the judges determine.