Wouldn't a possible outcome here though be that it just randomly reduces grades instead of reducing them in a way that's related to the students? If the issue is the sorting the random candidate numbers would still be sorted. It solves the problem of bias related to the individual but it doesn't solve the problem of bias related to the way that the submissions are sorted.
A random identifier coupled with a random sort order seem like the way to go here.
A random identifier coupled with a random sort order seem like the way to go here.