Lottery scheduled to determine ballot placement in 17 Lake races

Ballot placement for candidates in 17 Lake County primary races will be decided by a lottery on Monday, the county clerk’s office announced.

The drawing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. in the lobby of the county government center in Waukegan. It will be open to the public.

The candidates involved in the lottery all filed ballot petitions in the opening minutes of the filing period on Nov. 28. All were in line at the clerk’s office in Waukegan when the filing began at 8:30 a.m.

The clerk’s office considers those filings to be simultaneous, so the lottery will determine who will be listed first on the ballot in each race.

Some political candidates want to be listed first on a ballot, believing such placement gives them an edge with voters.

“There is statistical evidence the first place position can yield a slight advantage,” County Clerk Willard Helander said in a news release.

The lottery will be used to determine placement in the following races:

Ÿ Circuit court clerk, Republican primary.

Ÿ Coroner, Democratic primary.

Ÿ Recorder, Republican primary.

Ÿ State’s attorney, Democratic primary.

Ÿ State’s attorney, Republican primary.

Ÿ County board 2nd District, Democratic primary.

Ÿ County board 3rd District, Republican primary.

Ÿ County board 9th District, Democratic primary.

Ÿ County board 12th District, Republican primary.

Ÿ County board 13th District, Republican primary.

Ÿ County board 15th District, Republican primary.

Ÿ County board 16th District, Republican primary.

Ÿ County board 17th District, Republican primary.

Ÿ North Shore Sanitary District 3rd Ward, Democratic primary.

Drawings also will be used to determine ballot placement for three Republican committee precinct races.

The primary election is set for March 20, 2012. Winners will progress to the general election in November 2012.