Nailbiter: Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Election

The Cherokee Nation voted today on a host of offices and questions, from term limits changes, to Tribal Council, all the way to Principal Chief. The results are still coming in, and they are interesting.

As of 10:45pm, incumbent chief Chad Smith had 7,567 votes and challenger Bill John Baker had received 7,559.

Honestly, I have never paid any attention to tribal politics, so I didn't expect Smith to be in any trouble. Baker had been leading all evening until about 10:30pm (and at times was leading by over 700 votes). We will see how the final results shake out by morning - I would assume that there would be a recount, given how close the results are so far.

UPDATE: Bill John Baker appears to have won the election, at least for the time being. The unofficial results show Baker with 7,600 votes, and Chad Smith with 7,589. There will more than likely be some legal wrangling over the ballots, so don't expect it to be over too soon.