OAR 165-010-0090: Order of Candidate Names on the Ballot

(1) The purpose of this rule is to establish the procedure for determining the order in which candidate names will appear on the ballot. (2) The Secretary of State shall provide to the county clerk a random ordering of the letters of the alphabet. The county clerk shall place each candidate's name on the ballot in the order that the first letter of the candidate's last name appears on the random order alphabet. For candidates whose last names begin with the same letter of the alphabet, the following procedure shall be followed: (a) For candidates whose last names begin with the same letter, the order of placement of these names (within the order allocated to the first letter of the last name) shall be determined according to the second letter of the last name. The county clerk shall place the candidates' names in the order the second letter appears on the randomly ordered alphabet. If both the first two letters are the same, the procedure shall be followed for the third and following letters in the surname; (b) If two or more surnames are identical, the order of placement of these names (within the allocated order) shall be according to the first letter of the first name of the candidates. If the first letter of the first name is identical the ordering shall be based on the second letter of the first name. If both the first two letters of the first name are identical, the same procedure is followed for the third and subsequent letters of the first name; (c) If two or more candidates have identical last and first names, the order of names will be according to the letters of the middle name in a like manner.