November 12, 20162:13pm
Voters in a Californian city have elected a dead man to office.
Official figures show that Oceanside City treasurer Gary Ernst was re-elected even though he died in September. Ernst received 17,659 votes and beat challenger Nadine Scott by about six percentage points.
There was insufficient time to remove his name from the ballot after he died from diabetes complications. Since he cannot take office, the City Council can declare the seat vacant and decide to appoint someone to fill out the term or call a special election. A decision could be made next month.