PROVIDENCE, RI -- This Friday at 5 p.m. in the State Room at the State House, Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis will use a machine borrowed from the R.I. Lottery to determine the order in which candidates and political parties will appear on the ballots for the Sept. 14 statewide primary and the Nov. 2 general election.
In a scene familiar to Rhode Islanders who watch the state’s daily lottery numbers selected on TV, candidates and parties will be assigned specially calibrated ping-pong balls. A representative of the R.I. Lottery will operate the device. After each ball floats to the top of the machine, Mollis will announce the name of “winner” and where that candidate or party will appear on the ballot.
While state law gives the Secretary of State complete authority over the design of ballots, Mollis has held public lotteries for ballot placement since taking office in 2007.