US city decides mayor by coin toss amid tie in election results

ISTANBUL (AA) - After mayoral elections in a US city in the state of Kentucky ended in a tie, officials decided on an unusual way to pick the new mayor, a coin toss.

Mason Taylor and incumbent Greg McElfresh each won 55 votes in Tuesday's election to choose a new mayor of the city of Butler in Kentucky, the American broadcast network ABC News reported.

According to the report, Kentucky law specifies that election ties must be broken by a "lot" which means the winner is decided randomly. So the officials used a coin flip to determine who will lead the city of around 600 residents.

Taylor, 25, who is a firefighter and paramedic, became the next mayor of Butler after winning the coin toss on Nov. 10.

"The coin circled around the floor about three times and spun and then it just flopped over on tails and I had this big exhale of relief," Taylor was quoted by WCPO, a local television station in the US, affiliated with ABC.