Overview

When you run a lottery through Public House, the system assigns every eligible applicant a rank — first place, second place, and so on — using a process that is random, automatic, and independently verifiable. No one at your organization selects the order. No one at Public House selects the order. The outcome is determined entirely by a process that neither party controls or can predict in advance.

This document explains how that works, why it matters for your organization, and what information is available if the results are ever questioned.

How the draw works

1. The entry list is locked

Before the draw begins, Public House freezes the list of eligible applicants. No entries can be added, removed, or modified after this point. The system generates a "fingerprint" of the locked list — a unique code that would change if even a single entry were altered. This fingerprint is recorded as part of the draw's audit record.

2. A random seed is obtained from an external source

To determine the order of ranking, the system needs a random starting value — called a seed. Critically, this seed does not come from Public House's own servers. It is fetched from drand, a publicly accessible randomness service operated by the League of Entropy, a consortium of independent organizations around the world (including universities, technology companies, and research institutions).

The drand service publishes a new random value every 30 seconds. These values are generated by multiple independent parties simultaneously and cannot be predicted, manipulated, or known in advance — not even by the organizations that run the service. Anyone in the world can access and verify them.

The seed used for your draw is constructed by combining:

• The drand value published at draw time
• The fingerprint of your locked entry list
• A unique identifier for your specific draw

These are combined and processed into a single seed value. This ties the seed uniquely to your draw — the same inputs will always produce the same seed, and a different draw will always produce a different one.

3. The ranking is computed

Using the seed, Public House runs a standard randomization algorithm (Fisher-Yates shuffle) to assign a rank to every entry in the locked list. This algorithm is mathematically equivalent to the familiar process of pulling names from a hat one by one — it produces a complete, unbiased ranking of every applicant.

The entire computation is reproducible. Given the same seed and the same locked entry list, the algorithm will always produce the same ranking. This is what makes the draw verifiable.

4. Results are published

Once the ranking is complete, the results are available on your lottery's public results page. Applicants are listed by their participant ID (not their name or personal information) alongside their rank. A single timestamp records when the draw was completed.

Applicants who have registered for notifications receive an email listing all of their entries and ranks, along with a direct link to the public results page. That link is personalized — when an applicant clicks it, the full results list opens and automatically scrolls to their row, which is highlighted. They can see their rank in the context of all entries, which reinforces the transparency of the process.

Why this approach

No one can influence the outcome

Because the randomness comes from an external, independent source that is published before the draw runs, it is impossible for anyone — including Public House — to have chosen or adjusted the outcome. The seed is determined by events outside anyone's control, and the computation is fully automatic from that point forward.

The process can be verified by anyone

Every element of the draw is published and reproducible. An applicant, their representative, a fair housing advocate, or a government auditor could take the same inputs — the locked entry list, the drand value, the algorithm — and reproduce the exact ranking independently. If the numbers match, the draw is confirmed.

It removes your organization from the decision

One of the most common sources of lottery disputes is the perception that someone at the organization influenced who was ranked where. This system eliminates that exposure entirely. The ranking is determined before any staff member sees it, using a source your organization did not control.

How this protects your organization

Fair housing compliance. Housing lotteries are subject to fair housing law. Allegations that an organization ranked applicants in a biased or preferential way — even without proof — can trigger complaints and investigations. A verifiable, automated draw provides a clear, documented record that the process was neutral.

Reduced dispute exposure. When applicants question their rank, your organization can point to a specific, reproducible process rather than asking them to take your word for it. The draw record is not just your assertion — it is independently checkable.

Replaces costly third-party draw services. Many organizations currently pay outside vendors to run their lottery drawing precisely to establish neutrality and distance from the outcome. Public House's draw process achieves the same result without the added cost or coordination.

Audit-ready documentation. The draw record — including the locked entry list fingerprint, the external seed source, and the ranked output — is retained and available for regulatory review or legal proceedings.

If a question or dispute arises

If an applicant or outside party questions the results of a draw, the following information is available to share:

What you can provide:

• The draw timestamp — the exact date and time the draw was completed, recorded as a single immutable event.
• The drand round value — the specific publicly published random value used as the basis for the seed. Anyone can look this up on the drand public log and confirm it was published before the draw ran.
• The entry list fingerprint — a code that proves the list of applicants was not changed after it was locked.
• The algorithm — the specific randomization algorithm and software version used, which are documented in the draw record.
• The full ranked output — the complete ranking of all entries, identified by participant ID.

What this demonstrates:

Together, these items show that: (1) the applicant list was finalized before the draw ran, (2) the randomness came from a source no one controlled, and (3) the outcome could only have been what it was given those inputs. There is no step in the process where a human choice was made about order.

Recommended language for applicant-facing communication:

If an applicant contacts your organization to question their rank, you may use or adapt the following:

"Your rank was assigned through an automated lottery draw that uses independently verifiable randomness. The draw is based on a random value published by an independent international consortium — one that neither [Organization Name] nor Public House has any control over. The process is fully documented and reproducible, meaning the exact same result can be confirmed by anyone using the publicly available draw record. We are happy to provide you with the draw documentation if you would like to review it or share it with a representative."

Independent verification

The draw is designed so that any outside party — an applicant's representative, a fair housing organization, or a government auditor — can independently reproduce the ranking and confirm it matches the published results. Public House maintains a step-by-step verification procedure for this purpose. If you need to initiate a formal verification in response to a dispute or audit request, contact Public House support.

Questions?

Contact Public House support if you have questions about a specific draw, need to pull the draw record for a completed lottery, or want help explaining the process to an applicant or outside party.