The ballots for the Champaign County primary elections have been determined for the primary election held in February 2010.

At a series of lottery meetings on Monday at the Brookens Administration Center, 1776 E. Washington St. in Urbana, Chief Deputy for the County Clerk Rhonda Wrona placed numbers in a hat to determine the placement of candidates on the ballot for each office and country board district position.

In Champaign County, the lottery process only occurs during primary elections, said Mark Shelden, Champaign County Clerk. He added that the position of a candidate’s name on a ballot can be very important to candidates running for county elections. “There is no doubt that a lot of people want to be first on the ballot,” he added.

A number of candidates were present at the lottery meetings, and a few walked away with the No. 1 spot on the ballot for the office or district they are running for.

After she drew the top spot in her race, Stephanie Holderfield, candidate for Champaign County Board District 1, said it was an advantage to be placed first on the election ballot.

That is because candidates in local elections might not have a lot of name recognition.

“Yes, today was a win for me,” she said.

James Quisenberry, county board candidate for Champaign District 9, was also placed as the first candidate on the election ballot for his district.

Statistics show that the candidate placed at the top of the ballot usually receives more votes than the candidates that come after them, he said.

He added that it is still important to have a good campaign though,

“It’s always nice to have an edge,” Quisenberry added.

In an unknown race, candidate placement may be significant, but in a well-known race, it is worth less, Shelden said.

“In a presidential race, it’s worth a couple votes. Maybe in a county board race it’s worth a few more votes,” he added.