One vote separates Farrow, Meiss in Milton City Council; proves again every vote matters

Benjamin Johnson, Pensacola News Journal
·3 min read

There's a reason why people say "every vote matters."

The old adage has been proven true many times throughout history, most recently during Tuesday's midterm elections, when a single vote separated two candidates for Milton City Council.

Marilynn Farrow and former Milton Mayor Wesley Meiss squared off for the council's Ward 2 seat in Tuesday's general election. Unofficial results Wednesday morning indicated Farrow had beaten Meiss by a single vote, 1,408 to 1,407, which triggers an automatic machine recount under Florida law.

Santa Rosa County Supervisor of Elections Tappie Villane told the News Journal Tuesday night that a machine recount will commence if the candidates are still within the 0.05% range after the Canvassing Board resolves any provisional ballots and cure affidavits Thursday afternoon.

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Milton Mayor Wesley Meiss pulls a wagon filled with campaign materials during his reelection campaign in 2018.
Milton Mayor Wesley Meiss pulls a wagon filled with campaign materials during his reelection campaign in 2018.

While Farrow said Tuesday night she is "still hopeful" and will wait to "see what happens," Meiss seemed at peace with the preliminary results.

"Thanks to everyone who supported and voted for me," Meiss wrote on Facebook. "We were one vote short last night. Congrats to Mrs. Farrow! Barring some technical glitch revealed during the mandatory recount, which is highly unlikely, she'll do a fine job. As for me, I think I'll take a step back for a while......."

Villane said Wednesday that Canvassing Board members have discussed a machine recount scheduled tentatively for Friday morning if needed.

While elections and major policy decisions rarely come down to one vote, it's more common than one would assume.

Marilynn Farrow
Marilynn Farrow

Locally, one vote set the path for how Escambia County would select superintendents for the next 50 years.

A 1967 referendum proposed a system where school board members appointed the school superintendent, as opposed to the existing system of having voters elect the superintendent. The measure failed 9,651 to 9,650.

The referendum failed every time it was put back on the ballot in 1970, 1976 and 1988, according to Escambia County Elections Office records.

It was the 2018 general election when the referendum finally passed, with residents voting yes 62,263 to 61,372 no votes.

There are many other examples where decisions that changed history and were determined by just one vote, according to a list complied by the League of Women Voters:

  • 1800 — One vote made Thomas Jefferson president instead of Aaron Burr

  • 1850 — One vote admitted California and Oregon into the United States

  • 1868 — One vote saved President Andrew Johnson from Impeachment

  • 1876 — One vote made Rutherford B. Hayes a United States President and one vote elected the Indiana Electoral College member who voted for Hayes

  • 1920 — One vote in the Tennessee legislature ratified the 19th amendment and gave women the right to vote

  • 1941— One vote kept the military draft operational just weeks before Pearl Harbor

Benjamin Johnson can be reached at bjohnson@pnj.com or 850-435-8578

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Milton City Council: One vote separates Farrow, Meiss; goes to recount