COLUMBUS, Ohio — It's the most exciting situation Election Day has to offer: an entire political race ending up tied or hinging on a single vote. But it's not just a Kevin Costner movie plot: it happened in Ohio 43 times last November.

During the 2013 general election, 24 local races and five local ballot issues were decided by just one vote, according to a release from the Ohio Secretary of State’s office.

Another 11 races and three local issues ended in a tie and were settled by methods not often taught in high school civics class, such as coin flips or picking playing cards.

Most of the razor-thin margins were found in more sparsely populated rural counties. But in Cuyahoga County, two village council candidates – Lois Henley in Cuyahoga Heights and Glenda Todd-Miller in Woodmere – prevailed by a single vote.

In Geauga County, Middlefield Village Council member Ronald Wiech was elected to a second term in office by a one-vote margin, beating out opponent Brandon Reed.

Chad Waters' victorious run for mayor of tiny Hanover Village, in Licking County, was literally in the cards. After he and opponent Nicole Gieseler each polled 104 votes, Waters ended up winning the job when he pulled a 9 of diamonds to Gieseler's 5 of spades, according to news reports.

“These results are proof that every vote can make a difference,” Secretary of State Jon Husted said in a statement. “When a single vote can have such a big impact in so many places, you can understand why we focus so heavily on accuracy of the voter rolls and the integrity of the elections process, and why we encourage every voter to take their right and responsibility to vote seriously."