North Carolina Determines Ballot Order for 2026 Elections Through Random Drawing
The State Board of Elections in Raleigh, N.C., employed a unique method on Friday, Dec. 19, to decide the order in which candidates will appear on the ballots for the 2026 primary and general elections. This process involved both a bingo machine and a coin flip, marking a significant event as the candidate filing period concluded at noon the same day.
For those interested in the complete list of candidates, they can be accessed on the State Board’s website: Candidate Lists.
According to North Carolina General Statute § 163-165.6(c), the State Board is mandated to randomly decide the order of candidates by their last names on the ballot. This year, the process was divided into two steps. Initially, a bingo machine was utilized to draw a ball, with the letter on the ball determining which candidates’ last names would be listed first. Following this, a coin was flipped to decide if the subsequent candidates would be listed in alphabetical order (“heads”) or reverse alphabetical order (“tails”).
The result of the bingo machine draw was the letter “F,” signifying that candidates whose last names start with “F” will appear first on the ballots in the upcoming primary and general elections. The subsequent coin flip landed on “tails,” establishing the order to be: F, E, D, C, B, A, Z, Y, X, W, V, U, T, S, R, Q, P, O, N, M, L, K, J, I, H, G.
It is important to note that this random drawing does not apply to municipal contests, where candidates are listed in strict alphabetical order starting with “A,” as per state law.
For those who couldn’t attend in person, the ballot order selection process was streamed live on Webex.
The primary election for 2026 is scheduled for March 3, with the general election set to follow on November 3.
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