Damion Green lost the Rainier City Council post 247 votes to 246, with his opponent, Ryan Roth, declaring victory, the Washington Post reported.
A Washington state candidate for a city council post in the town of Rainier lost his election by just one vote because he didn’t vote himself for the position, according to reports.
Damion Green lost the Rainier City Council post 247 votes to 246, with his opponent, Ryan Roth, declaring victory, Washington Post reported.
The election, which took place Nov. 7, was so close that it took nearly a month for officials to determine the winner, according to People.
On Dec. 1, officials announced that Roth had won by just one vote.
"The Thurston County Canvassing Board certified the Rainier City Council Position No. 2 contest," officials announced in a statement. "The board certified Ryan Roth won the election by 1 vote."
Green told The Washington Post that he didn’t feel right voting for himself “because it’s not about me, it’s about the people.”
He told The Washington Post that if God wanted him to serve, he would have gotten elected, adding, “I’m not good at tooting my own horn.”
Green also spoke to local news outlet The Seattle Times and said that if he did go and vote for himself it would have been like "stacking a deck in your favor.”
Rainier, which has just 2,400 people, has seen an influx of people moving to the area in recent years, according to Business Insider. Both Green and Roth ran on issues of how they would handle its rapid growth, according to Business Insider.
The news shocked the victor, who also spoke to The Washington Post and said, “It just came down to my vote, I guess.”
Roth voted for himself after his wife encouraged him, The Seattle Times reported.
He mailed in his ballot with just a few days to go, Business Insider reported.
"Your vote does count," he told The Seattle Times. "It does matter."
