Republican candidates will appear first on the ballot for the Nov. 3 general election in DeKalb County after a ping-pong ball coordinating with their party was drawn during a party lottery this month.

In front of Carmen Polvere, a DeKalb County Board Democratic party candidate, and Brian Siwicki, the chair of the DeKalb County Republican Central Committee, DeKalb County Clerk and Recorder Tasha Sims and Jessica Piecko – the county’s chief deputy of elections – held a randomized drawing to decide which party would appear first on the midterm ballot.

The way Sims described the party lottery drawing was akin to the way the NHL or NBA holds draft lotteries, albeit less high-tech.

“In DeKalb County, we place numbered ping pong balls into a container and mix them thoroughly before a number is drawn,” Sims wrote. “Each established political party is assigned a number alphabetically prior to the drawing. The party whose number is drawn first will appear first on the ballot, followed by the remaining party.”

On Thursday, a number corresponding to the Republican Party was pulled, meaning they’ll appear first on the ballot in each race for elected office. Sims said that the drawing was held in accordance with the Illinois Election Code, and has run the same way for several years.

“The lottery simply determines ballot position order and is conducted publicly to ensure transparency in the election process,” Sims wrote. “In our office, we simply follow the process set out in law and conduct the drawing publicly.”

“Interestingly, when explaining this process recently, someone in our office mentioned they had never really thought about how ballot order was determined,” Sims wrote. “That is exactly why processes like this exist. Ballot placement is not determined by the Clerk’s Office, but rather by a public lottery process established under election law.