SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – On election night, the race for Shreveport City Council District B ended in what appeared to be a second-place tie, now the Caddo Parish Clerk of Court is providing details about what caused the dead heat in the race.

Caddo Parish Clerk of Court Mike Spence said what appeared to be a tie between two candidates was caused by a glitch.

Spence said that cartridges provided by the Louisiana Secretary of State are put into the machines that keep count of votes; there is also a paper printout for redundancy. Occasionally, those cartridges do not correctly read, as in the case of District B, and require input from the SOS.

The cartridges in question were sent to the Secretary of State’s Office for a special reading. According to Spence, the special readings are expected to be completed on Friday.

Spence said the “tie” took him by surprise as it did many voters, but he said the state’s 25-year-old voting technology works excellently and every election has issues.

“Every election has little quirks, but never in my career have I seen a tie.”

Spence said the issues sent him to the Louisiana election law statute. According to the law, there would have been a tie for second place, and all three candidates would have gone into a run-off election. The person with the most votes in the run-off would take the seat.

Voters in District B will choose between Gary Brooks, who received 39.99% of votes, and Mavice Thigpen, who received 25.68% in the December 10 runoff election.

All of the candidates in the race were notified of the glitch and the steps that are being taken to resolve it.

Monday, November 14, is the last day for any candidate to request a recount. Tuesday, all votes will be certified, making the election results official.