‘Uncommitted’ Gets Top Spot On Dem. Ballot

"Uncommitted" will appear first on the Democratic ballot in the Rhode Island presidential preference primary, Secretary of State Ralph Mollis said Friday.

Mollis held a lottery to determine the order of names on the Democratic and Republican ballots.

On the Democratic side, Uncommitted will be followed by Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama.

Mollis said John McCain's name was selected first in the GOP lottery. His name will be followed on the Republican ballot by Ron Paul, Hugh Cort, Mitt Romney, Uncommitted, Alan Keyes and Mike Huckabee.

Edwards dropped out of the Democratic race this week and initially, his campaign asked the secretary of state to remove his name. But NBC 10 reported that Edwards' campaign later asked for Edwards' name to remain on the ballot.  

Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani also dropped out of the race this week. His campaign staffers took the necessary steps to have his name removed from the ballot.

The Rhode Island presidential preference primary is March 4. Saturday is the deadline to register to vote in the primary.

All cities and towns in Rhode Island have made arrangements to have an office open Saturday for people who want to register.