League of Women Voters, OFF to Screen ‘Win, Lose, or Draw Straws’

Election ties happen far more frequently than the public may think. But the absence of a single deciding vote can have far-reaching implications.

Such is the powerful message in the film “Win, Lose, or Draw Straws” being presented Thursday, June 25 by the League of Women Voters Oxford/North Mississippi during the Oxford Film Festival’s Drive-In Series.

This is a rare political film that brings together left and right by exposing a little known oddity in U.S. electoral politics – the existence and resolution of races that end in exact ties.

Told by people who experienced the highs and lows of political campaigns determined by games of chance, this film exposes the way luck often determines the winner. This film is produced by Casey W. Phillips, a former political strategist, who worked on Delbert Hosemann’s 2007 race for Mississippi Secretary of State.

Highlighted in this nationwide story is the tie of the 2015 Mississippi House of Representatives race between Bo Eaton and Mark Tullos. Drawing of straws is the Mississippi law to break ties but come to view the film to learn how the loser was seated.

Oxford’s own Charlie Mitchell, Associate Professor at the School of Journalism and New Media at the University of Mississippi, provides insight on the Eaton/Tullos race with other journalists and legal scholars weighing in on other races presented in the film.

“Win, Lose, or Draw Straws” will be shown at 8 p.m. at the OFF Drive-In movie site in the Cannon Motor parking lot. Tickets may be purchased online at https://oxfordac.eventive.org/schedule/5eda11eae248810029805630.

For more information about the film, the Oxford Film Festival can be reached at boxoffice@oxfordfilmfest.com.

Courtesy of the League of Women Voters Oxford/North Mississippi