I have recently been following the British elections (this is mostly due to the fact that my brother will update me on the interesting stuff with no work or effort on my part), and I find the predicaments their complex electoral has put them in, quite fascinating.
Apart from their problems with a hung parliament (an issue that Wikipedia explains so much better then I can), they also had some difficulty with two candidates getting the same number of votes. The ballots were counted four times, but each time it was the same; Conservative Bob Peck had 1,034 votes and Labour's Charlie Marsden had 1,034 votes.
But never fear, the British had a way to deal with even this unlikelihood, they brought out a deck of cards. Yes, you did heard me correctly, they decided the seat with a deck of playing cards. Apparently this has happened before, and the way they have to resolve it is to either flip a coin, or cut a deck of cards. Marsden drew a 7 and Peck a 3, meaning that Marsden won the election and settling the dispute.
This whole kerfuffle has just given me one more reason to be glad I'm in America, with it's nice, simple electoral system.
Until next time, farewell.
~Nat
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