As we draw nearer to the 59th quadrennial presidential election, let’s take a look at a piece of election history.
1997BHS.26.020
This is our Automatic Voting Machine Instruction Model. Added to the collection in 1997, this machine was probably used in the 1950s.
This demonstration device would have been available at the polling place for poll workers to show voters how to place their votes before they entered the privacy of the large voting booth.
When using the full voting machine, a voter would enter the machine and pull a lever to close the curtain. The voter would then make their selection from an array of small voting levers denoting the appropriate candidates or measures. The machine would lock out other candidates when one candidate's lever is turned down. When the voter was finished, they pulled a lever which opened the curtain and reset the machine.
Mechanical lever voting machines were first officially used in 1892. By 1930, they were in use in virtually every major American city, and by the 1960s well over half of votes in U.S. elections were cast on these machines.
These days, Washingtonians don’t have to use mechanical levers to cast their votes. Mail in voting was made available as a permanent part of our election process in 2005.
Election day is November 3rd this year and EHC encourages everyone to make their voices heard.
Fact Sheet Courtesy of the Washington Secretary of State
Resources:
The History of Elections and Voting in Washington. (n.d.). Retrieved September 08, 2020, from https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/timeline/index.htm Washington Secretary of State
Bird, W. L., Jr. (2004, July 16). The Gear and Lever Voting Machine. Retrieved September 08, 2020, from https://americanhistory.si.edu/vote/votingmachine.html
Historical, Political, 1956 Presidential Election Voting Machine, Instruction Model. (n.d.). Retrieved September 08, 2020, from https://www.georgeglazer.com/wpmain/product/historical-political-1956-presidential-election-voting-machine-instruction-model/
