CalPERS random drawing sets ballot order for 2025 member-at-large election

Lisonbee Belden, board election coordinator for the California Public Employees Retirement System, conducted a certified random drawing to determine the order of names on the 2025 member-at-large ballot for two positions.

The drawing, witnessed and certified by auditor Ashley Yan and assisted by election staff Sala Perez, set the ballot order for position A as: Steve Mermel, Dominic Bey and David Miller; and for position B as: Sam Hassan Akkad, Troy Johnson and Jose Luis Pacheco.

Belden summarized the procedure before the drawing and asked the auditor to inspect the empty raffle drum and capsules. "The random drawing determines the order of the candidate names as they will appear on the official ballot for this election," Belden said. Perez loaded each candidate's name into individual capsules, turned the drum and the names were drawn one at a time. After each draw, Belden announced the result and Perez displayed the name on an easel while the auditor recorded the names on the certification form.

For position A, Belden announced: "The first candidate for position a is Steve Mermel. The second candidate for position a is Dominic Bey. The third candidate for position a is David Miller." For position B, Belden announced: "The first candidate for position b is Sam Hassan Akkad. The second candidate for position b is Troy Johnson. The third candidate for position b is Jose Luis Pacheco."

After all names for both positions were drawn, Belden requested the auditor to sign the random drawing certification. Ashley Yan signed the certification, and Belden closed the event: "With the certification complete, the random drawing event has concluded. Thank you for attending."