When an advisory committee to the U.S. Mint proposed that Benjamin Banneker grace the District’s commemorative quarter set to be released next year, not many D.C. residents were too happy with the decision. But thanks to a timely intervention by D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, voting was opened to residents, leaving them with the choice of Banneker, Duke Ellington, or Frederick Douglass.

The city announced today that Ellington squeaked out a narrow victory in the voting, defeating Douglass and Banneker with 36 percent of the 6,089 votes cast. Douglass garnered 33 percent; Banneker 31 percent. You can download the letter Mayor Adrian Fenty sent to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson over here, which officially recommends he chooses the Ellington design. The ultimate decision is up to Paulson, however, so let’s hope he’s more a jazz fan than an astronomer.