GREENSBORO, N.C. — It is 2020 and believe it or not, a coin flip and a blind drawing determine what your ballot looks like in NC.
Nick writes:
How is the order of listing candidates decided on our 2020 election ballot? I noticed that most (but not all) Republicans are listed first. Is that chance?
It is all by chance, but that chance is by law. According to NC General Statute 163-165.6, the state board is required to randomly determine the order of candidates on the ballot. The order is determined by a drawing and a coin flip.
The NC State Board of Elections showed the process in a March Facebook post. It all starts with 2 sets of the alphabet. All letters go into the bingo machine. There's a blind drawing and the letter chosen becomes the start of the ballot alphabet. The candidate with the last name closest to the letter is the first listed.
Then a coin is flipped. If it is Heads, the ballot alphabet goes on in order. If it is tails, the order is reversed.
For example, the NC ballot letter was “O”. And the coin flip was Heads.
So the ballot alphabet starts with “O” and goes in alphabetical order: o, p, q, r, s, t, u,v,w,x,y,z,a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n.
If you take a look at the ballot in Guilford County, President Trump is listed first because “T” is closest to “O”. Then Biden, Blankenship, Hawkings, Jorgensen. All in the ballot alphabetical order.
In Guilford County, the ballot has 36 sections where there are 2 or more parties listed. In 20 the Republican candidate is listed first. Leaving 16 Democrats listed first. Again, all of this is by the chance of a drawing and a coin flip.