In Invercargill, the final seat at the table is currently held by a razor-thin margin of seven votes.
Westland’s mayoral race is separated by just four votes, while further north, Kaipara’s mayoralty is a three-horse race with 31 votes in it.
What happens if a race is a dead heat?
Invercargill City Council has provided some clarification, saying the winner would be determined by "lots", as per electoral legislation. The ancient practice includes methods such as drawing straws for the purpose of randomised selection.
In 2019, the winner of a Whakatāne council seat was determined by a coin flip before a recount found the unlucky loser had actually won by a single vote.
A tied result is not an impossibility in Invercargill, given just 106 votes separate four candidates with 904 special votes still to count.
Lisa Tou McNaughton and Ian Reeves sit on either side of the cut-off with 5564 votes and 5557 votes respectively, but have remained philosophical.
Ms Tou McNaughton said the result was in God’s hands, while Mr Reeves said "what will be will be".
The candidates unsuccessfully contested the 2023 by-election won by councillor Steve Broad, and Ms Tou McNaughton also stood in the 2022 election.
Both have been invited to a council induction today despite the possibility neither will make it in.
Trailing Mr Reeves are three candidates who are still in the running: Lynley McKerrow, David Meades and Karl Herman.
Invercargill City Council is expected to release final results later this week.
Mayoral results across Southland include Tom Campbell securing a first term in Invercargill, Rob Scott securing a second term in Southland District and Ben Bell securing a second term in Gore District.
• LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
