The Carbon County Election Board cast lots Wednesday to determine ballot positions for the upcoming primary election.

Board members drew lots Wednesday morning to set the order of candidates on the ballot for the May 19 primary.

Commissioner Mike Sofranko said the process applies to Democratic and Republican candidates, the two parties listed on the ballot.

Candidates for each office were initially listed in the order their petitions were received before the lots were cast.

“Nothing here was done alphabetically,” Sofranko said to those in attendance. “So if you say why is one above the other, it’s not alphabetically, it’s how it was filed.”

He added that because the governor — who is up for reelection — is a Democrat, the county would begin with the Democratic ballot races.

Candidates drew numbers from a box to determine their position. If a candidate was not present, an election board member or staffer drew on their behalf.

While often associated with a Biblical term, casting lots is also outlined in Pennsylvania election law, which allows candidate names to be randomly ordered on ballots.

In Carbon County, the election office uses Scrabble tiles marked with numbers. The tiles for each race are placed in a box, and a number is drawn for each candidate to determine ballot order.

The method is not unusual. According to SpotlightPA, some counties use pingpong balls, marbles or playing cards.

Casting lots occurs annually before elections and can also be used to break ties in a race.

Information on the upcoming election, as well as candidate lists, will be made available on the Carbon County website.