Dungeons And Democracy – Natural 20 Decides Real Life Election Results
Proof that rolling a natural 20 is the greatest possible course for success in life – a roll of a d20 has decided an election in Contra Costa County, CA.
A hotly contested local election in Contra Costa, CA was decided via the tried and true method of a roll-off when both candidates for a local office received the same number of votes from the tiny pool of registered voters. This local election–a race for the District 1 seat on the Byron-Bethany Irrigation District which provides water to “a multi-county special district [including] parts of Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Joaquin Counties across 47 square miles and 30,000 acres.”
According to KPIX CBS SF Bay Area, the election had just 147 registered voters, and of those–a significant number participated, 110 to be precise. With both the incumbent and the challenger in the election receiving 51 votes. According to state law, a tie must be decided by lot–a random contest which, as you’ll see in the video below, made the office get a little creative.
In one of the stranger moments in history, D&D has influenced real-world politics. Now, sure, it was just a roll of a d20, which can be used in a variety of RPGs, but the big reason the d20 is popular is, that’s the one that D&D used and it’s one of the more iconic aspects of the game. So it’s not that much of a stretch to say that D&D is responsible for that d20 being in that office. Which is absolutely my favorite part of the story–someone in the office who “just happened to have” a d20 lying around got to see it put to good use.
Both candidates would roll off 3 times, with the candidate with the higher total winning the election, and the seat on the Irrigation Board. The scores were fairly close right up until the end, when the incumbent rolled a natural 20…
…and sealed the election. Life really does imitate art, I suppose, but there you have it. Also let’s not lose sight of the fact that both of these candidates were rolling hot–the lowest roll was a 13–I need to track that die down the next time I’m a player in a campaign.
At any rate, take care adventurers, you never know when being able to roll a 20 will come in handy.
Seriously though, register to vote, and then vote. Every election. Every time. Now we have proof that one vote is equal to a natural 20.
