Next week’s Nevada Democratic caucus will probably need a few tiebreakers, and in a state devoted to games of chance, the race for the White House is no exception.
US presidential nominees are determined not just by primaries, where voters simply cast their ballots, but by complicated caucuses that require citizens to convene and discuss their choices before deciding who to support.
In the Iowa Democratic caucus earlier this month, several precincts were deadlocked and had to decide on a candidate by flipping a coin. In Nevada on Saturday (Feb. 20), ties will be broken by a deck of cards.
Every precinct in the state will receive a brand new deck of cards, USA Today reports. To break a tie for delegates in the race, each deck will shuffled seven times. Representatives for both candidates will each draw a card, and the higher card wins. In 2008, the method gave Barack Obama two lucky precincts. Will Hillary Clinton’s luck be better this time around?
The tiebreakers may well be crucial as the race is looking extremely tight. According to the latest poll from CNN/ORC, Clinton and Sanders are in a statistical tie in Nevada, with 48% of voters declaring their support for Clinton, and 47% for Sanders.