Minnesota could shake up how candidates' names are listed on the ballot.
The state currently determines the order of names in two ways. For nonpartisan races, people are listed in a random sequence that rotates among precincts.
"That makes sense. It's fair, it's random. It's probably the best we can do," Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, told the House Elections Committee on Thursday.
In partisan battles, it's a different story.
Those candidates' names are listed by political party in the reverse order of how the party fared in the past election, with the worst-performing parties at the top of the list. Major parties are listed first, minor party candidates come second.
In the 2022 governor's race, Steve Patterson and Matt Huff with the Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party were first on the list.
Studies show the person at the top of a ballot gets a bump in votes, said Stephenson, who is pushing to switch partisan races to the nonpartisan process.
"It's almost as if we're trying to put a thumb on the scale on behalf of the party that didn't do as well in the last election," he said. "Our elections should not be determined by how we print the ballot."
