Santhiya KS, Tamil Nadu National Law University
Abstract
Elections in democratic setup such as India are of huge significance. At the end of the counting of votes, a candidate is declared as a returning candidate, but what happens when more than one candidate receives the same or equal number of votes leading to a tie? In India, the tie is broken by drawing of lots, which on the outset seems unfair. Therefore, this paper aims at critically analysing the reasons behind choosing the candidate by lot when there is equality of votes. The paper would examine all the options available as tie breakers in the elections in the interest of fairness and make a comparative analysis of responses from other jurisdictions when there is case of equality of votes. The paper studies in depth the solutions to tie breakers in elections from the United States of America, dealing with the options available across 50 states of the country. The author analyses the drawbacks associated with all the options and reasons on the most viable solution as a tie breaker in the elections.
