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AP19:098

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 12, 2019
CONTACT:
SOS Press Office
(916) 653-6575

Secretary of State Alex Padilla Announces Results of Randomized Alphabet Drawing for March 3, 2020 Presidential Primary Election

SACRAMENTO, CA - Secretary of State Alex Padilla’s staff today held a randomized alphabet drawing to determine the order that candidates’ names will appear on the March 3, 2020 Presidential Primary Election ballots.

The results of today’s drawing are as follows:

  1. A
  2. Z
  3. R
  4. C
  5. H
  6. E
  7. W
  1. L
  2. F
  3. N
  4. Y
  5. X
  6. O
  7. D
  1. K
  2. S
  3. M
  4. J
  5. P
  6. Q
  7. V
  1. U
  2. B
  3. G
  4. I
  5. T

This alphabet applies throughout the candidate's name, last name first, followed, if necessary, by first name, then middle name. If more than one candidate's last name begins with the same letter, the alphabet applies to the second letter and, if needed, the third, etc., until different letters appear in the same position. For example, if two candidates with the last names Campbell and Carlson are running for the same office, their order on the ballot will depend on the order in which the letters "M" and "R" were drawn in the randomized alphabet drawing.

Today’s randomized alphabet drawing was held in the Elections Division of the Secretary of State’s office in compliance with Elections Code section 13112. Staff pulled the letters in a lottery-style drawing, with witnesses from the public and press present.

Contests Voted on Statewide
Names of candidates for U.S. President rotate by Assembly district, starting with Assembly District 1 where the names appear as first determined by the randomized alphabet. In Assembly District 2, the candidate who appeared first in Assembly District 1 drops to the bottom and the other candidates move up one position and so on throughout the 80 districts. This gives each candidate more than one opportunity to appear at the "top of the ticket" in his/her race.

U.S. Congressional Office
Congressional candidates follow the randomized alphabet and rotate within their districts with the lowest numbered Assembly district leading the rotation.

State Legislative Office
State Senate and Assembly candidates follow the randomized alphabet but do not rotate; however, if a legislative district crosses county lines, the elections officials of each county shall conduct a random drawing to determine candidate order for these offices in their county.

For more information on March 3, 2020 Presidential Primary Election, click here: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/upcoming-elections/presidential-primary-election-march-3-2020/

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