Nakamura, after discussing the issue with the County Attorney's office, concluded that only those votes properly cast should be included in tallying the numbers. That means blank ballots and spoiled ballots — specifically ones in which more than one candidate had been selected — are excluded.

By that standard, Baptiste received a single vote more than he needed to win. He got 8,173 of 16,342 votes cast. The smallest possible majority would have been 8,172.

The Kaua'i County Charter calls for a runoff between the two top candidates if no candidate gets a majority. In this election, five people were running for the mayor's seat: Baptiste, Jesse Fukushima, John Hoff, Bruce Pleas and Janee Taylor. Fukushima was the second-place finisher, but his count was far behind Baptiste's, and Baptiste had more votes than all four challengers combined.