Cook County Clerk Holds Ballot Lottery for 2026 Primary Candidate Order (Chicago, IL) – The order in which candidates will appear on the ballot for several Cook County races in the March 17, 2026, Gubernatorial Primary has been set following a public lottery conducted by the Cook County Clerk’s Office.
Clerk Monica Gordon and her elections staff held the ballot position drawing on November 10 at the Clerk’s Election Headquarters in downtown Chicago. The event, which determines candidate placement for contested primary races, was open to the public, media, and candidates, and was also streamed live on the Clerk’s Facebook page.
State law requires the Clerk’s Office to hold a ballot lottery whenever multiple candidates from the same party file their nominating petitions at the same time. This year, 11 primary contests required drawings — 10 to decide which candidate would appear first on the ballot, and one to determine the candidate who would appear last.
The drawings for the first ballot position involved candidates who filed when the filing period opened on October 27 at 9 a.m., while the drawing for the final position involved candidates who filed during the last-hour filing window between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. on November 3.
Candidates who filed at any time between those two windows will appear on the ballot in the order in which their petitions were submitted.
The Clerk’s Office will continue updating its candidate list daily to reflect withdrawals and challenges to nominating petitions. The results of the ballot lottery, the livestream recording, and the updated candidate list are available on the Clerk’s website.
Cook County Clerk Holds Ballot Lottery for 2026 Primary Candidate Order
