California Secretary of State selects “randomized alphabet” that determines candidate order on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot
The California Secretary of State’s office conducted a drawing Aug. 13 of all the letters in the alphabet. The order in which the letters were drawn is used to determine the order that names will appear on ballots for races big and small throughout the state. If the first letter of a candidate‘s last name was drawn earlier than the first letter of another candidate’s last name, they will appear on the ballot ahead of them.
If the first letter is the same, as in White and Wysinger, then the order between those two names is determined by the second letter, also using the randomized alphabet.
See the image for the order in which the letters were drawn to create what the state calls a “randomized alphabet.”
Based on the drawing, El Cerrito City Council candidates will appear on the ballot in the following order: Kimberly White, Carolyn Wysinger, Mary Ann Jawili, Forrest Lanning, Wally Nowinski, Gabe Quinto.
Wherever possible, El Cerrito Wire will use the reverse of that order to counteract rather than compound any bias the order might create.