In a special election on Tuesday, residents of Fall River, Mass., voted their mayor out of office. But they also voted him back in, by a small plurality — on the same ballot.

It was an odd and somewhat confusing turn of events for Fall River, an old mill city in southeastern Massachusetts.

Mayor Jasiel F. Correia II, 27, a Democrat serving his second two-year term, was charged last year with 13 criminal counts of wire fraud and filing false tax returns. He has denied the charges, but the City Council called for him to resign. He refused, setting the gears in motion for Tuesday’s recall election.

On Tuesday, 7,829 residents voted to recall Mr. Correia, and 4,911 voted to keep him in office, according to the city’s Election Commission. But on the same ballot, voters were asked to choose among five people for the mayor’s job. Mr. Correia’s name was included. There, he won a plurality, with about 35 percent of voters voting for Mr. Correia.