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State Board of Elections certifies ballot order after drawing for June primary; filing period closes
Summary
The State Board of Elections concluded its April meeting by certifying the order of candidates on the June primary ballot for several contested races after Department of Elections staff conducted randomized draws; the board also heard a report that the filing period for statewide and House of Delegates primaries closed today.
The State Board of Elections on the April meeting certified the order of candidates on the June primary ballot for seven offices after Department of Elections staff drew names at random to resolve simultaneous filings.
The drawing came as the Department of Elections concluded the filing period for ballot access for statewide offices and the House of Delegates. "We are concluding the filing period today for ballot access for the primary for statewide offices and the house of delegates," Commissioner Susan Beals said, thanking staff who processed filings.
Why it matters: ballot order can affect voter behavior and is set by statute and board rules when multiple candidates file at the same time. The board’s certification formalizes the order resulting from today’s random draws and completes the department’s procedural step for simultaneous filers.
Elections staff told the board the draws only resolved order for candidates who filed at exactly the same time; candidates who filed at other times will be placed on the ballot in the order of their filings. "The names drawn today are only the candidates that filed at the same time for the same office," an elections staff member said, describing the canister-and-slip process used to randomize order.
Results announced during the meeting included the following orders (first listed = top of the ballot): lieutenant governor (Democratic): LeVar Stoney; Barbara Latif; Aaron Rouse; Victor Salgado; Ghazalah Ashmi. Attorney general (Democratic): Shannon Taylor; Jade Jones. House of Delegates, 1st District (Democratic): Arjun Srinkant; Sean Epstein; Patrick Hope. House of Delegates, 57th District (Democratic): Andrew Scheer; May Nevar. House of Delegates, 75th District (Democratic): Dustin Wade; Lindsay Doherty. House of Delegates, 89th District (Democratic): Casey Carnegie; Blazin Buckshot Bloom. House of Delegates, 89th District (Republican): Kristen Shannon; Mike Lamonia.
After the draws, a board member moved that the board "certified the determinations by lot of the order of candidates on the ballot for primary elections to be held on 06/17/2025." The motion was seconded and approved by roll call: Chairman O'Bannon, Vice Chair Danz, Mister Weinstein, Doctor Stolle and Secretary Ellis Long all voted aye. The board’s certification completes the department’s action for those simultaneous filers.
The commissioner said the department made process changes this year to improve candidate communication, including weekly lists to parties, standardized receipts for candidates and notification when filings contained discrepancies. Commissioner Beals said staff would post a complete candidate list once all paperwork is entered into the voter registration system.
The board’s next meeting was noted on the record for May 27.
