Get out the vote!
November 5 is Election Day in the United States. People from every US state will cast their votes for offices ranging from President of the United States to small-town Justices of the Peace and Sheriffs. Campaigning is ubiquitous. People document their political choices with their vote and we’ve been so fortunate that they’ve often documented this action with photography. The laws and rules of voting vary dramatically from place to place—how you register to vote, where you need to go on Election Day, what you need to bring with you—and people’s rights to vote have also changed over time. Take a look through these photos from Flickr Commons organizations, documenting election days and campaigns over the years.
Ready to vote (LOC), taken March 1918
The Library of Congress
Suffragists, including Gertrude Weil, taken c. 1920
State Archives of North Carolina
African American and white voters voting together in Tallahassee, taken 1956
Florida Memory
Voting access
Some people vote using voting machines, some people vote using paper ballots, some people vote with the assistance of trained poll workers. Access to the vote continues to be a work in progress. Whether someone opts to mail in their ballot early or show up on election day, voters have continued to use the ballot to represent their voice in any given election.
Eleanor Roosevelt votes in Hyde Park, New York, taken November 1936
National Archives (US)
Voting in New South Wales, taken August 1973
State Library of New South Wales
Woman assisting voter – Tallahassee, Florida, taken November 6, 2000
Florida Memory
Campaign central
Historically, candidates have had a lot of original ideas for getting their names, positions, and likenesses in front of potential voters, even before the days of social media. With examples from commemorative coins, to branded banners, handkerchiefs and sashes, there has been no lack of creativity in making sure the public has the opportunity to learn a candidates name before heading to the polls on Election Day.
Van Buren Campaign and Commemorative Items, ca. 1840-1900
Cornell University Library
McKinley-Theodore Roosevelt “Our Candidates” Glass Flask, ca. 1900
Cornell University Library
Blaine-Logan Portrait Handkerchief, 1884
Cornell University Library
Suffrage Sash, 1914
Schlesinger Library
Child Holding Suffrage Placard
LSE Library
Alice Park’s collection of Suffragette badges, c 1920’s-1930s
National Library of Ireland
For president, Abram Lincoln. For vice president, Hannibal Hamlin, c. 1860
Library of Congress
Voices heard all over the world
Voting is an important tool to make our voices heard and it’s just the starting point for civic and political engagement that can help shape your community’s future. From Ghana, to Turkey, Japan to Australia, voting day is a day we can all come together and help choose a path that reflects our vision for the future.
Kungungu Polling Station in the Northern Territories, Ghana, taken 1957
National Archives UK
Elections in Turkey, c. 1924
SALT Research
Women vote in Japan, c 1925
Library of Congress
Dutch women going to the polls for the first time, taken 1921
Nationaal Archief
Nurses voting on Election Day, Brisbane, taken 1938
State Library of Queensland
Election advertising in Wondai, Queensland, taken 1906
State Library of Queensland
We hope you enjoy this walk through past voting days. Remember to leave your own mark on history by participating tomorrow and on election days to come!