Copperas Cove candidates draw for May ballot order 

By LYNETTE SOWELL 

Cove Leader-Press 

 Candidates draw for May ballot order With the candidates finalized for the Copperas Cove city council Place 5 special election set for May 4, candidates drew for the ballot order on Friday morning at the City Secretary’s office. 

Dale Treadway and John Valentine III were present to draw. 

Treadway, first to file, drew first, followed by Valentine. Candidates Timothy Traeger and James Coach Wilson not being present, City Secretary Lisa Wilson drew on their behalf. 

The order of the May 4 ballot will be: 

1. Timothy J. Traeger 

2. John N. Valentine III 

3. James Coach Wilson 

4. Dale W. Treadway 

Candidates – or their designees – draw for a position on the ballot after the filing period closes. 

According to MIT’s Election Lab, all states have laws that mandate the order in which candidates appear on the ballot. If the order in which candidates appear on the ballot influences election outcomes, then these laws will advantage some candidates over others, whether this advantage is due to incumbency, party, or alphabetical order.

Concern over the advantage presumably conveyed by “ballot-order effects” has led some states to require names to be randomly listed on the ballot.