You are using an outdated browser.
Please upgrade your browser
and improve your visit to our site.
Skip Navigation

Nevada’s tie-breaking system is way better than Iowa’s.

The Iowa Caucuses were so close some delegates were awarded only after caucus-goers flipped coins. Hillary Clinton got very lucky in Iowa and reportedly won all of the coin tosses in the state—though she didn’t win all the non-coin toss tiebreakers.

Like Iowa, it looks like Nevada will be a squeaker. With 32 percent reporting, Clinton currently leads Sanders 51.4 percent to 48.5 percent. But it’s so close in some districts that caucus precinct chairs are using their own, more Nevada-y take on the coin toss. 

There are three quick takeaways from this. The first is that Clinton looks like she’s going to continue her luck—but then again, the house always wins. The second is that Clinton is lucky that Pahrump precinct chair Peggy Rhoads plays aces high—the appropriate way, but still. And the third is that, while I generally believe that drawing cards is a better method of awarding delegates than flipping coins, I think that the good people of Nevada could do better. The next time there’s a tie, delegates should be awarded by slot machine, black jack, or multiday Texas hold ‘em tournaments.