Can One Vote Really Make A Difference?

Can your vote really make a difference? The answer, if recent history is any indication, is yes. Here are just a few recent examples of real races decided by just one vote:

Vermont State representative Sydney Nixon in 1997 won his seat by a one-vote margin, 570 to 569. He later resigned after a recount determined that he had actually lost to opponent Robert Emond, 572 to 571.

On election night in 1997, South Dakota Democrat John McIntyre held a razor-thin lead of four votes over Republican Hal Wick for the second seat in Legislative District 12. A recount, however, found that Wick had won 4,192 to 4,191. The state supreme court then ruled that one ballot counted for Wick was invalid, due to an over-vote, leaving the race at a tie. Wick was eventually won out after the state legislature voted to seat him, 46 to 20.

Candidate for the Wyoming House of Representatives Randall Luthi, a Republican, beat out independent Larry Call in 1994 when the race was called – by ping pong ball. The two candidates had tied at 1,941 votes in both an initial count as well as the final recount. Luthi was declared the winner when, in a State Canvassing Board drawing, a ping pong ball with his name on it was pulled from the cowboy hat of Democratic Governor Mike Sullivan.

A Lansing, Michigan School District millage proposition failed in 1989 when a final recount yielded a tie vote of 5,147 for, and 5,147 against. In the original count, votes against the proposition outnumbered those in favor by 10. The school district, as a result of the final recount, had to reduce its budget by $2.5 million.

The Fox News Brainroom contributed to this report.