The ballot is decided in a lottery, as each candidate's name is placed into an identical small capsule which is then put into a box. The box is shaken up, before a voting official selects the names. The order in which they are pulled is then the order they will be on the ballot.

Griffith's ballot will be divided into tickets and individual candidates. First on the ballot will be Christopher Sutton's ticket, followed by Doug Curran's, Simon Croce's, Dino Zappacosta's, Anne Napoli's and finally Glen Andreazza's before those running as individuals.

The ballot draw was delayed from it's initial start time due to last-minute complications with other regions, leading to the pull being delayed while the MIA's electoral volunteers waited for approval from the NSW Electoral Commission.

GROUP 1

GROUP 2

GROUP 3

GROUP 4

GROUP 5

GROUP 6

GROUP 7

Those candidates running solo will be listed in their own column at the right of the ballot sheet. That list will be as follows;

Griffith is unique in the sense that Griffith has a popularly elected mayor rather than that decision being made by the elected councillors.

The mayoral ballot includes four candidates in the following order;

As with Federal elections, voting will be done preferentially with your ideal candidate numbered '1', your second-favoured candidate numbered '2' through to your least preferred candidate.

While there's currently no data proving how effective it is, it's often considered that being listed at the top of the ballot is advantageous due to the number of Australians who 'donkey vote,' or simply go down the list.

In the upcoming election, this would put Rina Mercuri at a distinct advantage being placed at the top of the ballot for mayor.

She said it was a good place to be.

"I think my heart skipped a beat when she read my name first. I'm just thrilled, it is a good position to be in," she said.

"They're all good positions though, and it depends on the community, but everyone always wants to be first out of the gate."

She added that while it would give her the benefit of the donkey vote, she was encouraging everyone to take the upcoming election seriously and research candidates.

"Voting should always be taken seriously, you need to really know your candidates. Know what they've done, look at the committees they're on and what work they've done as part of those groups ... It is important to know who's there representing you" she explained.

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Doug Curran is last on the mayoral ballot, but isn't bothered.

"To be honest, if you're relying on where you sit on the ballot, you're probably not the right candidate for the job ... if you can't be first on the mayoral ballot, you might as well be last on it," he said.

"It's always good to get a leg up, but if you don't get it, that's fine. I think I'm a strong candidate, so my focus with the ballot paper is to get a good grouping. Being in second place is a good opportunity to get my fellow group members elected and that's a positive for the community."

Carmel La Rocca sits just above Mr Curran, and said that while it was not ideal, she would simply ramp up her campaign in response.

"I got a bit low but that's okay. Gotta do a little bit more campaigning so people don't forget who I am," she joked.

"I'm just hoping that the community doesn't do that donkey vote, that they look at the candidates and make an informed choice and then vote for who they think will be good."

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