Contact: Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Alternate: Jim Irizarry, Assistant Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder

(Redwood City, CA) On Thursday, August 16th at 11 a.m., the San Mateo County Registration & Elections Division will conduct randomized alphabet drawings to determine the order in which candidates’ names will appear on the ballot for the November 6, 2018 Statewide General Election.  In addition to selecting the letters for a randomized alphabet for candidates, San Mateo County will randomly select the letters to be assigned to the local measures for submission to the voters in compliance with Election Code section 13116.

“It is important that candidate names are not automatically listed in alphabetical order. The random drawing produces an impartial ballot order,” said Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder.  “Elections staff will draw letters in a lottery-style drawing. The media and the public are invited to observe the process,” Church added.

The Secretary of State’s randomized alphabet drawing, also to be held on August 16th, will decide the ballot order for statewide offices and U.S. Congressional offices. The San Mateo County drawing determines the order of candidate names for the State Senate and Assembly District races where the district is not completely within the county.

To further safeguard fairness, California Election Code section 13111 calls for the rotation of the candidate names for Congressional and countywide offices. This ensures that election results are not swayed by the order of candidate names.

Information regarding candidates and the local measures is available on the Registration & Elections Division website at www.smcacre.org.

For more information about the drawing, please contact Candidate Filing Officer Michelle Yue at 650.312.5293 or myue@smcacre.org.

New Election Model for November 6, 2018
The November 6, 2018 Statewide General Election will be the second election conducted under the California Voter’s Choice Act.  Traditional polling places will be replaced by Vote Centers, which will be open for voting for a greater period, and which will offer expanded voter services including voter registration, multilingual assistance, and disabled access voting options. Every registered voter will also receive a Vote-by-Mail Ballot, which can be returned with no postage required in any mailbox or special ballot drop boxes located throughout the county.

For more information, call 650.312.5222, visit www.smcacre.org or follow us on Twitter @smcvote.