Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- A lottery drawing for ballot placement for those candidates running for the office of Village Mayor and Village Trustee in the April 2023 election will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022, at 10:00 a.m.
A lottery drawing is required when more than one candidate is present at the opening of business (9:00 a.m.), on the first day of filing (Dec. 12, 2022), and the last hour (4:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m.) of the last day of filing (Dec. 19, 2022) to file their petitions.
The following turned in petition packets for the April 4, 2023 election:
Mayor Candidates
Jonathan Vanderbilt
Joseph A. Woods
Village Trustee Candidates
Andrew Gladstone
Tiffani Graham
John V. Moore
Joshua Travis
Randall White
Library Trustee Candidates
Katherine Coleman
Felicia M. Rangel
Alan B. Shnay
Bathsheba Wyatt-Draper
The candidates who will be in the lottery drawing are:
For the office of Mayor: Dec. 12 at 9 a.m.
Jonathan Vanderbilt
Joseph A. Woods
For the office of Village Trustee: Dec. 19 Last Hour
Andrew L. Gladstone
John V. Moore
All the candidates above are listed alphabetically.
Why a Lottery?
There are numerous theories about ballot placement favoring some candidates over others. According to a 2007 study from the University of Vermont (updated 2008), “name order effects were shown in forty-eight percent of 118 races studied. In these elections it was revealed that a candidate listed first on a ballot received, on average, two-and-half percent more of the vote than those listed after.”
The authors of the study attributed this to the “primacy effect,” what they called a natural response to choose the first answer when given many possibilities. Another study found an “inherent bias, based on the nature of human psychology,” regarding the choices make.
Likewise, the last ballot position has been found to have an advantage.
Of course, the best advantage is a well-run campaign and an informed electorate that votes.
Please make a note to vote.
