Utah mayor says vote too close to call on fate of his 18-inch handlebar mustache

July 4, 2012: Dan Snarr, the mayor of the Salt Lake City suburb of Murray, jokes with wife, April, in Murray, Utah, after a parade in which he put all 18 inches of his handlebar mustache up for a vote. He has been growing it for 31 months but says he will shave if a majority of residents voted thumbs-down during the annual parade. (AP/Courtesy Trevor Snarr)

SALT LAKE CITY – The vote on whether a Utah mayor should shave off all 18 inches of his handlebar mustache is too close to call.

Residents of the Salt Lake City suburb of Murray cast votes Wednesday on whether Mayor Dan Snarr saves it or shaves it by giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down sign along the annual Fourth of July parade route.

Snarr says city officials and his family members are reviewing footage from the parade to count the number of votes cast, but so far it's too close to call. The parade route spanned 2 1/2 miles.

His wife April wants the mustache gone because she says it pokes her in the eye and makes him lose his credibility.

Snarr says it's part of his identity. He spent the last 31 months fine-tuning the white facial hair into a stiff upper-lip ornamentation.

He last grew a mustache -- and shaved it off -- to raise money for a children's hospital in 2009.