LOTTERY FOR BALLOT ORDER SCHEDULED FOR WEDNESDAY

As of the closing of the filing period last week, 15 candidates in total are running for the positions of mayor and aldermen for the City of Aurora.

The lottery to determine the ballot order of candidates who simultaneously filed petitions to run in the 2021 Consolidated General Election will occur at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, December 2.

The lottery will be held at Aurora City Hall, 44 E. Downer Place, in the City Council Chambers, and will be streamed live to the City’s Facebook page at City of Aurora, IL, Government and homepage of the City’s website at www.aurora-il.org.

“Our goal is to conduct the lottery in an accessible, yet safe environment,” said Aurora City Clerk Jennifer Stallings. "We will live stream the process for the community, and a limited number of representatives can be physically present as well."

Physical attendance at the lottery is limited to one representative for each interested party. Attendees must wear a mask, have temperatures taken upon entering the building, and socially distance while in the Council Chambers.

Petitions are considered simultaneously filed if they were received by the City Clerk’s office at 8 a.m. on the first day of the filing period or at 4 p.m. on the final day. Any petitions submitted after 8 a.m. on November 16 and before 4 p.m. on November 23 will appear in the order they were received.

The names of all candidates waiting in line at or before 8 a.m. on Monday, November 16, will be placed into a lottery to determine who will appear first on the ballot. There were no simultaneous filings on the final hour on the final day.

Three candidates are running for mayor; four candidates are running for alderman-at-large; two candidates each are running for aldermen in Wards 4, 7, and 10. Incumbents in Wards 2 and 9 are unopposed.

The state of Illinois requires the local election authority to conduct a lottery within nine days after the last day of the petition filing period.