On December 19, the North Carolina State Board of Elections conducted a random drawing to determine the order in which candidates will appear on ballots for the 2026 primary and general elections. The process took place after the candidate filing period closed at noon on Friday.
According to state law (N.C.G.S. ยง 163-165.6(c)), the board is required to randomly set the ballot order by last name. The procedure involved two steps: first, a ball was drawn from a bingo machine to select a letter corresponding to the first letter of the last name that would appear first on the ballot. Second, a coin flip determined whether names would be listed in alphabetical or reverse alphabetical order.
The letter “F” was drawn from the bingo machine, so candidates whose last names begin with “F” will be listed first in all contests for both primary and general elections. The coin landed on “tails,” indicating that subsequent candidates will follow in reverse alphabetical order: 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.
This arrangement applies to all statewide contests except municipal races. For municipal offices in North Carolina elections, candidates are listed strictly in alphabetical order starting with “A,” as required by state law.
The selection process was broadcast live via Webex.
The primary election is scheduled for March 3 and the general election will take place on November 3.
“The 2026 candidate filing period ended at noon Friday. Lists of candidates may be found on the State Board website: Candidate Lists.”
