Drawing Lots

DRAWING LOTS: High card sends incumbent to Nye County general election -- LVRJ article.

Yesterday an election in Nye County Nevada was decided by "drawing lots" after it ended in a 381-381 tie. I have two things to say about this. First, I think the system deserves applause that it worked in this manner. No guns were fired and it didn't come down to contesting the election in the courts. Both sides accepted that the election ended in a tie, and both respected the draw of the cards. I say "bravo" to both men!

Second, why does anyone say "draw lots" anyway? I suppose it is a biblical reference, but why not just specify flipping a coin or drawing cards? I've wondered what they actually did when they drew lots in the bible. The process is mentioned several times, most famously for dividing up Jesus' clothes after he died:

"When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots." -- Mathew 27:35

I did some searching, and it looks like that casting lots was putting stones in a container, and determining a winner by pulling one out, which would somehow be associated to a particular person. Perhaps they wrote numbers on them, so it would be like a drawing. However, if that is the case, why don't modern translations just say that they divided up his clothes by having a drawing?

If anyone can shed more light on this, by all means, have at it.

As is suitable for Nevada politicians they drew cards. Queen high won.

Quote: kenarman

As is suitable for Nevada politicians they drew cards. Queen high won.

I think they draw cards in Utah as well. As I recall there was a similar tie vote in a minor election there several years ago. Of course in sports they flip coins to randomize something.

Quote: Wizard

I think they draw cards in Utah as well. As I recall there was a similar tie vote in a minor election there several years ago. Of course in sports they flip coins to randomize something.

Some Sports like Golf often draw "pills" to determine order. They are numbered balls in a container. That is also how the ballot position is decided in some places, like the one where I ran for office. Sadly I got a bad draw.

Quote: Wizard

I did some searching, and it looks like that casting lots was putting stones in a container, and determining a winner by pulling one out, which would somehow be associated to a particular person. Perhaps they wrote numbers on them, so it would be like a drawing. However, if that is the case, why don't modern translations just say that they divided up his clothes by having a drawing?
If anyone can shed more light on this, by all means, have at it.

I have wondered about this for some time, and have done some research on it. Most sources* will tell this much: A "Lot" really is a very general term, can to refer to any 'random number generator'. A lottery is nothing more then deciding something using chance. In recent times we think of a lottery as the particular case of a drawing of some kind, and I think this leads to confusion. "Drawing(or casting) lots" is really meant to mean deciding something by chance as well. It doesn't describe a method, although I would hazard that "Drawing" might be different then "Casting" even though I have found nothing much to back that up. As far as I can, not much is known what particular methods were used in the bible, but there is a lot of conjecture out there (pun intended?) e.g http://www.biblewiki.be/wiki/Lots. If anyone knows any definitive source for more on this, i would appreciate it!

*M-W dictionary, also I got some good info from "Of the nature and uses of Lots" a book from 1627 by Thomas Gataker. Gataker uses "Lot" and "Lottery" in this general sense.

I recall one election for some minor office that ended in a tie and during the coin toss one candidate called out Heads ... the incumbent who had tied in the election remained silent. When the coin landed it was heads and the incumbent then declared that he had "heads" ... his cronies agreed with him and the TV news film was held to be 'hearsay'. So casting lots does not always solve the problem.

I would think 'cast' meant to throw out of a container onto the ground.
And "lot" came to refer not only to the object that was cast but to a portion of one's life as in "a policeman's lot is not a happy one".

I'm not big on using a coin toss to determine something important with somebody I don't trust. There can disputes about what constitutes a legitimate toss, who gets to call it, whether the coin is caught, trick coins, and what side is what.

I seem to recall there was a Super Bowl way back when somebody disputed which side was which. In the movie Friday Night Lights there was a brief such dispute when somebody used a worn coin for the toss, and confused heads for tails, or vise versa. If something must be determined by coin toss, between two parties without trust, then I highly recommend using a neutral third party to negotiate the rules and do the flip, much like in football.

Quote: Wizard

I'm not big on using a coin toss to determine something important with somebody I don't trust. There can disputes about what constitutes a legitimate toss, who gets to call it, whether the coin is caught, trick coins, and what side is what.

So what do you recommend? Cutting cards? Drawing straws? Odds and Evens? I wonder what would be the reasonably secure, and yet conveinient choice. There is even a web site you can use to draw straws (youdrawstraws.com). In vegas at least we could walk to a nearby roulette wheel and let it decide. I have used that before to determine who pays for lunch :)

Here is what I like to do, in priority order:

1. Guess whether the last digit in a serial number on a dollar is odd or even. One party should choose the bill from his own wallet, and the other guess the number. If I'm among friends, and there isn't a huge amount on the outcome, I'll prefer to play liar's poker instead.

2. Roll of dice.

3. Cutting cards, after a good shuffle, and no fanning the cards.

4. Rock paper scissors.