On Oct. 30, 2024, days earlier than the 2024 U.S. presidential election, X consumer @DarthCaul posted a grievance a few supposed drawback with California’s voting machines: The title of former U.S. president and 2024 Republican nominee Donald Trump was not seen on the primary display of the poll. As an alternative, in keeping with the publish, voters who wished to vote for Trump needed to choose “Extra” on the voting machine to see his title.
(X consumer @DarthCaul)
The consumer posted an image exhibiting the names of Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, former unbiased candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (Kennedy dropped out of the race too late to have his title faraway from the poll), Libertarian Social gathering nominee Chase Oliver, and Inexperienced Social gathering nominee Jill Stein — however no Trump.
Customers within the feedback claimed this was an instance of voter suppression or election interference. The declare was echoed by different large right-wing accounts on X, together with that of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.Â
Nonetheless, this was not a case of election interference — it was a direct results of state regulation. In keeping with the California Secretary of State’s office, the order during which candidates seem on the poll is determined by randomizing the alphabet, giving every candidate an equal likelihood to seem on the prime of the poll, then rotating the positions primarily based on the California State Meeting district the voter is in. The candidate on the highest of the poll is moved to the underside of the checklist and all different candidates transfer up a spot, and so forth.
From the state of California’s web site:
On the 82nd day earlier than an election, the Secretary of State conducts a randomized drawing of letters of the alphabet pursuant to California Elections Code part 13112. The ensuing order of letters constitutes the “randomized alphabet” for use for figuring out the order of candidates’ names on the poll.
This alphabet applies all through the candidate’s title, final title first, adopted, if mandatory, by first title, then center title. If a couple of candidate’s final title begins with the identical letter, proceed to the second letter and, if wanted, the third, and so on., till completely different letters seem in the identical place. If the second letter of the final title differs, the second letter of the final title determines who seems first on the poll, in keeping with the place the second letter of the title seems within the randomized alphabet. If the second letters are the identical, proceed to the third letter, and so forth. For instance, if two candidates with the final names Campbell and Carlson are operating for a similar workplace, their order on the poll will rely on the order during which the letters “M” and “R” have been drawn within the randomized alphabet drawing.
Statewide Workplace
Names of candidates for places of work voted on statewide rotate by Meeting district, beginning with Meeting District 1 the place the names seem as first decided by the randomized alphabet. In Meeting District 2, the candidate who appeared first in Meeting District 1 drops to the underside and the opposite candidates transfer up one place and so forth all through the 80 districts. This offers every candidate a couple of alternative to seem on the “prime of the ticket” in his/her race.
U.S. Congressional Workplace
Congressional candidates comply with the randomized alphabet and rotate inside their districts with the bottom numbered Meeting district main the rotation.
On Aug. 15, 2024, Califorinia Secretary of State Shirley Weber performed that drawing for the Nov. 5 presidential election. The randomized alphabetical order was as follows:Â
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That made the order of the 5 most distinguished candidates the next: Trump, Harris, Kennedy, Oliver, Stein. The image featured within the X publish above displayed the identical order, besides it began with Harris and ended with Trump, which is a sound order given the foundations for the way the poll order modifications for every Meeting district.
The official X account of the Los Angeles County Registrar, which is in control of conducting elections, replied to the unique publish explaining those rules, noting that the “Extra” button was solely current as a result of the voting machine only displays four options per web page.
