Has that ever happened before? I don't recall a similar tied result with that amount of votes.
Not for anything above the level of local politics.
Australia holds the global record - Nunawading Province in the 1985 Victorian state election returned 54,821 votes for the Liberal and Labor candidates after preferences. The returning officer made a casting vote after a drawing of lots, for the Labor candidate which gave them a 1 seat majority in the upper house. Court of Disputed Returns would void the result due to errors by the returning officer which resulted in 44 votes being excluded from the count. The Liberals would win the by-election, denying Labor control of the upper house.
