Philadelphia candidates determine their placement on May primary ballot with a little luck and a very old coffee can

© Provided by KYW Radio Philadelphia Mayoral candidate Jeff Brown draws his number from the storied Horn & Hardart coffee can.

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Candidates for mayor and other city offices found out Wednesday where their names will appear on the May primary ballot. Ballot position can be important, and Philadelphia has its own unique and time-honored way of determining where the candidates end up.

The ballot lottery is a ritual that the phrase “only in Philadelphia” was made for: Board of Elections staff solemnly load numbered balls into an old Horn & Hardart coffee can and hold it above eye level. Then, one by one, each candidate or their proxy — or a staff member if neither are present — reach in to pick a number.

Some of the leading candidates drew the highest numbers. A civil service employee picked ball No. 12 for mayoral candidate Helen Gym, which places her last on the ballot. Mayoral candidate John Wood, a political newcomer, got lucky. He drew No. 1.

Conventional wisdom says ballot position won’t mean much in the top-of-the-ticket race for mayor. Council and judicial races are where ballot position really matters, where voters have less information and may select more randomly.

For instance, in a crowded field of 29 candidates for councilmember-at-large, getting your name near the top of a list of competitors could give you a boost.

In the at-large race, nearly every incumbent councilmember who is facing a challenge drew a high number, meaning their challengers’ names will appear above theirs on the ballot. Incumbents drew Nos. 18, 25 and 29.

So novice Derwood Selby, who drew No. 1, leveled the playing field a bit against incumbent Isaiah Thomas, who drew No. 29.

Perennial candidate Sherrie Cohen will be second on the ballot, perhaps changing her fortune this time after many attempts to get elected.

“It feels wonderful,” Cohen said. “Really looking forward to the opportunity to serving Philadelphia families.”

The ritual has been mocked for being so low-tech, but election lawyer Kevin Greenberg says, even with modern, more high-tech methods available, the Horn & Hardart method works just fine.

“Everybody gets to watch. There’s no question what happened is fair. And the Horn & Hardart brand lives on, in a way, that it’s wonderful that it does,” he said.

Horn & Hardart went defunct in 1991. No one is sure how old the can is.