Playing Poker With Democracy in New Mexico

A POKER game in New Mexico has decided the outcome of an election.

It is democracy in evidence.

Well, it beats deciding who wins on Hanging Chads.

Over in the United States, Josie Richards has a pair of nines.

The game is five card stud.

Michelle Dunlap is holding her cards.

The call. Richards wins. She is now a town trustee in Estancia, New Mexico.

There had already been a vote to decide on which woman should take up the post. But it has ended in a tie. What to do? A dual with pistols? Fisticuffs? A mud wrestle?

Not yet. Under New Mexico law, in the event of a tie, the winner is chosen by a game of chance.

Calm, yourselves. Chance. Not skill. Much can me made of that.

“I was very nervous,” says Richards. “I’m a big competitor and I wanted this position.”

This isn’t the first time poker has settled an election draw in Estancia.

In 2001, the mayor of Estancia James Farrington was re-elected to the town’s top job when he won a single hand of poker against Richard’s sister, JoAnn Carlson.

In 2006, Edgewood’s mayor was chosen by card draw. Some elections in the state have also been settled by a coin toss.

The question boils down to: Do you want tout leader to be the better poker player, or lucky?

Either way the answer must be yes…

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Anorak

Posted: 12th, March 2008 | In: Poker And Casino Comment (1) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink