What’s going on with the order of candidate names on my ballot?

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Those who voted early in the Nov. 5 election pitting Vice President Kamala Harris against former President Donald Trump may have noticed that the candidates’ names on the ballot were in a peculiar order appear.

A reader pointed out to cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer that Trump’s name was at the top of her ballot, while Harris appeared after lesser-known candidates.

It turns out that the order in which candidates appear on Ohio ballots serves a purpose and is established by state law.

And the order varies from district to district.

This is how it works:

The county election boards assign each district a number or letter. In Cuyahoga County, any municipality with more than one district generally begins with District 1A, but in some cities only letters are used.

If there is more than one candidate running for the same seat in that district, their names will appear in alphabetical order.

In the next district, the candidate whose name was at the top of the first district’s ballot is placed at the bottom. Everyone else’s name moves up one place.

The same thing happens for every additional district.

The idea is to prevent the same candidate from appearing first on every single ballot, said Lance Reed, director of the Summit County Board of Elections.

“You may see some voters simply select the first bubble at the top of the ballot, regardless of who it is or what race they are,” Reed said. “It’s really just about fairness for each candidate.”

Early voting began Tuesday in Ohio.