He won his seat on council by a single vote — which he cast himself

NPR | By Manuela López Restrepo

Published December 8, 2023 at 4:31 PM EST

Ryan Roth's single vote made all the difference.

Every election, we are told that each vote counts. But there are still people who feel like their lone ballot will not change anything.

Well, it turns out, for one man a single vote made all the difference.

Who is he? Ryan Roth is the newly-elected city council member in Rainer, Wash.

Roth, who is a landfill manager and father of four, ran a campaign in the small town of about 2,400 people.
His competitor, Damion Green, did not campaign, but had run for city council in the past.

What's the big deal? In one of those stranger-than-fiction moments (and basically the plot of the 1999 movie Election) the vote between Roth and Green was decided by one singular vote.

And that vote turned out to be Roth's own ballot for himself. Green did not make it to the polls.

Ryan and Tandra Roth on the campaign trail.

Want more on the politics? Listen to Consider This explore the career of Mike Johnson.

What are people saying? Roth joined All Things Considered host Ailsa Chang to chat about his victory and the unbelievable outcome of betting on himself.

On his reaction to winning by one vote:

On how he feels about Green not voting for himself:

On how he almost didn't get to submit his ballot:

So, what now? Roth says that one of the biggest takeaways for him is the importance of casting your vote.

"I mean, every vote does count no matter whatever your belief may be," he said. "I think every vote does count. And the process of counting by hand, and counting with the votes, is pretty bulletproof, man."
So next time you're hesitant about posting a photo of yourself on Instagram, remember you can always count on yourself for a like.

Learn more:

The interview with Ryan Roth was conducted by Ailsa Chang, produced by Michael Levitt and edited by Kathryn Fox. contributed to this story

Corrected: December 9, 2023 at 12:00 AM EST

An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of the city of Rainier, Wash.