Don’t ever tell Bobby McDonald that not every vote counts in an election.

McDonald, 27, a candidate for the Walton City Council in Kentucky, finished in a tie with Olivia Ballou for the sixth and final seat on the Council. Both received 669 votes.

What’s hard to take, though, is that McDonald knows one person who would have voted for him had she cast a ballot: his wife.

Katie McDonald wanted to vote, but between working nights at Christ Hospital as a patient care assistant, going to school at a local college and raising three kids, she just couldn’t find the time to get to the polling place.

“You never think it will come down to one vote, but I’m here to tell you that it does,” Bobby McDonald told Nky.com news.

“She feels bad enough,” McDonald added. “She worked extra hours, goes to school and we have three kids, so I don’t blame her. She woke up about ten minutes before the polls closed and asked if she should run up, but I told her I didn’t think one vote would matter.”

In Kentucky early voting is only allowed if a voter presents a valid excuse for being unavailable on Election Day. Unfortunately for the McDonalds, being a working mother who goes to school is not one of them.

With the voting ending in a tie, the final determination between McDonald and Ballou will come down to a coin flip—seriously. Under Kentucky law, if two candidates receive an identical number of votes, the decision must be resolved by heads versus tails.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

Race Tied After Candidate's Wife Doesn't Vote (by Mark Hansel, Kentucky Enquirer)