A city official who died in September won re-election to his office in Tuesday’s voting in the Southern California city of Oceanside.

The AP reports that Oceanside City Treasurer Gary Ernst received 17,659 votes, beating challenger Nadine Scott by about 6 percentage points. Ernst died in September of complications from diabetes, too late for his name to be removed from ballots.

“Since he can’t take office, the City Council can declare the seat vacant and decide to appoint someone to fill out the term or call a special election,” the report notes. “A decision could be made next month.”

Scott, who has indicated she would like to be appointed to the position, said she does not think the voters realized Ernst had died.