With two weeks until the Victorian election, the state's planning minister has been dealt a blow after being drawn last on the ballot in his electorate of Richmond.
Richard Wynne is eighth on the ballot paper after independents, Greens candidate Kathleen Maltzahn and other minor parties were randomly drawn on Friday.
The inner-Melbourne seat is expected to be a close two-horse race between Labor and the Greens, especially since the Liberal Party on Thursday announced they would not run a candidate.
Ballot order is considered important because some voters cast donkey votes - the method of numbering sequentially down the list of names paying no attention to preferencing of candidates.
With eight names on the ballot, there is also the possibility that some may overlook Mr Wynne's name altogether.
The Liberal Party's decision not to run a candidate in Richmond means he will be deprived of preferences that would have flown from the Liberals to him.
Ballot draws in other hotly contested electorates include the inner Melbourne seat of Prahran where Labor, the Liberals and the Greens are all considered to be in with a chance.
The candidates Katie Allen (Liberal), Neil Pharaoh (Labor) and Sam Hibbins (Greens) are listed second, third and fourth in a list of nine.
Current Prahran MP Sam Hibbins of the Greens holds the seat by just a 0.4 per cent margin.
In Morwell where the election is thought to be anyone's game, there are 11 candidates, including representatives of the National Party, Labor, Liberals and the Greens.
Last-minute nominations for Victoria's election caused delays in some of the draws which determine the order of candidates on ballot papers.
The Victorian Electoral Commission denied there had been any technical issues and said it was taking time to ensure all candidates were processed correctly.
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