Chris Rakocy, operations manager and information technology supervisor for the Mahoning County Board of Elections, shows Janet Tarpley a ballot during a recount in her race for the Democratic nominee for Youngstown council’s 6th Ward. Tarpley ended up in a 223-223 tie with Councilwoman Anita Davis, but lost a coin toss to determine the nominee. Staff photo / David Skolnick

YOUNGSTOWN — Not only does every vote count, but in the Democratic primary for Youngstown council’s 6th Ward seat, so does the flip of a coin.

A Tuesday recount didn’t change the 223-223 tie between Councilwoman Anita Davis and challenger Janet Tarpley.

But Davis is moving on to the general election.

That’s because when the results were finalized Thursday in a tie, Tarpley lost a coin flip — choosing heads when the quarter tossed by Sandra Barger, vice chairwoman of the Mahoning County Board of Elections, landed on tails.

The board recounted the votes Tuesday and it remained a 223-223 tie, though the ballots in Precinct 6G had to be recounted three times as it was one ballot short during the first two counts. That was because a ballot was stuck to another ballot.

When Tarpley lost the coin toss last week, she was visibly and vocally upset. She left the board room and screamed expletives in the hall that could be heard in the board room through an open door.

Tarpley said Tuesday: “The upset is from the rage and the outcry from the people on the South Side (of Youngstown). It’s not from Janet Tarpley.”

She added: “What I’m really disappointed in is the individual that’s going to win hasn’t been there for them. So this isn’t about Janet Tarpley. It’s about the people. They did not win today. As a matter of fact for me they lost because nobody really won from the vote of the people.”

Davis, whose mother died last week, wasn’t at the board for the recount. She couldn’t be reached Tuesday after the recount to comment.

Told of the tie and coin toss after Thursday’s meeting, Davis said, “On a coin flip?” and laughed.

She added: “OK, whatever.”

Cheryl Findley filed to run as an independent candidate for the council seat. The board hasn’t certified independent candidates yet. There is no Republican for the position.

Tarpley said Tuesday that using a coin flip to decide a tie election is “outdated and we should be more sophisticated than that.”

She added: “It doesn’t make any sense because the people are not winning. So I understand what’s happening. Do I like it? No, I don’t, but I’m going to have to deal with it to a degree.”

While tie votes are very infrequent, the Mahoning elections board flips a coin when they occur before the recount to determine winners if the final results remain tied.

The Ohio secretary of state’s directive regarding tie votes states that “the candidate declared the winner as decided by lot at the end of the official canvass (which was last Thursday) remains the declared winner after the recount. The board must not break the tie again. The original result stands.”

Board Chairman David Betras told Tarpley on Tuesday: “This is the amplification that should come from your race: every vote matters. When people don’t vote they are voting ’cause they’re giving someone else who votes more weight. If I want the public to know anything from what just transpired is if you don’t vote you are voting and one vote in your race could have made the difference between who the councilperson was selected by lot by law and who the councilperson wasn’t. That’s what the public should take from your election: that every single vote counts.”

Davis, a retired Youngstown police detective sergeant, succeeded Tarpley in 2015 on council and is seeking a third four-year term.

Tarpley, who worked for the Mahoning County Juvenile Court before her 2018 retirement, couldn’t run for a third council term in 2015 because the city’s term limits law at the time prohibited it. The law was repealed in 2018 and then reinstated by voters in 2022 to take effect with this year’s election.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on whether Beloit village officials want a hand recount on a fire levy that lost 50-49 during the May 2 primary.

The margin of defeat was 1.02 percent, which is outside the percentage for automatic recounts. Those are held when the margin is 0.5 of a percent or less.

A recount would cost $65.

As of Tuesday, a recount hadn’t been requested, said Tom McCabe, elections board director.

Beloit officials have until Monday to request one under state law, he said.