Order of Candidates on the Ballot is Determined by Random Alphabet Draws

March 17, 2016 - We receive questions about how the order of candidate names is determined on the ballot. For every election a random draw of letters is conducted, which is then used to determine the order that candidates will be listed. Today a random draw was conducted by the Secretary of State - here's the order:

1. Y, 2. L, 3. Q, 4. B, 5. E, 6. V, 7. J, 8. Z, 9. O, 10. F, 11. N, 12. T, 13. S, 14. W, 15. D, 16. U, 17. C, 18. K, 19. H, 20. M, 21. A, 22. X, 23. G, 24. I, 25. P, 26. R

The alphabet is applied throughout the candidate's entire last name, so if more than one candidate's surname begins with the same letter, the second letter of the surname determines who goes first. We have updated our online candidate log to reflect the final random selection.