Voting is Beautiful! in red vintage serif font on cream colored paper

A Visual Exploration of Old Voting Advocacy Posters and Paraphernalia from the Smithsonian Archives

We told our unpaid interns that they would not be permitted to take off work on Election Day unless they created a civic-minded, positive, art-oriented post by the end of the week. This is what they came up with. Please take a look at some of the more visually interesting voting advocacy or voting advocacy-adjacent posters and paraphernalia from the Smithsonian Archives.

Some of these graphics are huge, this is best viewed on a large monitor to truly appreciate the old paper textures on the scans.

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a red and orange poster that says When women vote women win in large bold font
Emily’s List. When Women Vote, Women WIn. 2000. Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Brian Leber / Edith Mayo / Ground Zero

While Brian Leber and Ground Zero were specifically advocating against nuclear war at the time, their posters remain disturbingly relevant today.

A poster produced by Ground Zero asking citizens to vote with the environment in mind shows a blue Earth floating in black space and in white text below it says vote as if Life depended on it
Brian Leber / Ground Zero, Vote As If Life Depended On It, undated (likely early 80s), Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Two purple and orange anti-nuclear war poster created by Ground Zero.
Edith Mayo / Brian Leber / Ground Zero, Ground Zero, 1982. Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Vote. 1974. Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Two hands inserting ballots into ballot boxes are shown. The word "Vote" appears at the right of each hand. The words and images appear in cream against a black background.
David Virgien. Vote series, screenprints on cream paper. 1980. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Frontlash

Frontlash (1968-1997) was a minority and youth targeted voter education organization. According to Wikipedia, it was created to increase political interest and engagement among young adults and was one of the most enduring college-aged activist groups to emerge from the 1960s. Some of the more visually interesting voter engagement posters in the Smithsonian Archives are credited to 70s-era Frontlash.

A poster sponsored by Frontlash encouraging citizens to register and vote.
Frontlash. Register to Vote. 1972. Smithsonian National Museum of American History
A poster sponsored by Frontlash and the United Federation of Teachers encouraging those who will be 18 by November 8, 1972 can register to vote.
“A poster sponsored by Frontlash and the United Federation of Teachers encouraging those who will be 18 by November 8, 1972 can register to vote.” Frontlash. Voting is Beautiful. 1972. Smithsonian National Museum of American History

REGISTER AND VOTE! Your mother would want you to. Sponsored by Frontlash, a nonpartisan, nonprofit voter education organization. 815 – 16th Street, N.W. – Washington, D.C. 20006

A poster sponsored by Frontlash encouring citizens, especially minorities and youth, to vote.
Frontlash. Register and Vote! 1984. Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Youth Citizenship Fund, Inc.

There isn’t much information online about Youth Citizenship Fund, Inc. It may have only existed for a couple of years in the early 1970s but it produced and is credited with some really excellent and colorful typographic and geometrically-driven posters. According to a 1971 New York Times article: “The Youth Citizenship Fund…is a non‐partisan organization based in Washington. …the fund is focusing on large metropolitan areas rather than campuses. Carroll Ladt, the 23‐year‐old director, said its next project would be to register the secretaries and young executives working in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart”

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Three colorful posters from 1972 by the youth citizenship fund showing single color block hands in the center of their respective posters holding a voting ballot over a diagonal color block with Register and Vote text over the top
Youth Citizenship Fund, Inc. Register and Vote poster series. 1972. Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Youth Citizenship Fund, Inc. Register and Vote. 1972. Smithsonian National Museum of American History
three typographically strong black and white posters from the youth citizenship fund in 1972 calling on young people to vote
Youth Citizenship Fund, Inc. poster series. 1972. Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Register and Vote. 1972. Smithsonian National Museum of American History

McQ, Inc.

We aren’t sure who or what “McQ, Inc.” was but they were apparently really obsessed with crying eagles and smooth gradients in the early 1970s.

McQ, Inc. Vote. 1971. Smithsonian National Museum of American History
McQ, Inc. Youth Vote Shoes. 1970s. Smithsonian National Museum of American History

The archival description of this beautiful student poster from 1971 states “[the] butterfly emerging from the cocoon is meant to signify the emerging power of the youth vote in the United States.”

McQ, Inc. Vote. 1971. Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.

Jennifer Sterling. Poster for VOTE. undated. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
A minimal, blocky, black and white poster says "Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote." over and over again creating the outline of a person
Jennifer Sterling. Poster for VOTE. undated. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

“It is no credit to our democracy when four out of every ten persons forfeit the privilege of expressing their convictions about the candidates and the issues of a national election.

Your vote counts! Victories in many elections are often determined by the barest of margins. For example, one prominent Senator won the post he now occupies by a margin of only 87 votes, with 988,295 cast.

To vote is a right and a privilege. To cast your vote intelligently is a duty.”

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American Heritage Foundation. Vote. 1960. Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Postcards, Buttons, Pins, and Other Paraphernalia

Vote Buttons. various dates. Smithsonian National Museum of American History
A square white button with a purple hand placing a pink triangle that says lesbian gay vote 86 into a pink box
Russell K. Cashdollar. Vote Button. 1986. Smithsonian National Museum of American History

A man named Howard Croft collected and donated more than 200 buttons and/or pins to the Anacostia (a neighborhood in D.C.) Community Museum. We don’t have time to look at them all but someone should definitely do it!

This square pinback button promoted the National Visibility Campaign for the Gay & Lesbian Vote. The pin reads “Gay & Lesbian / Vote 87” in pink and features a pink triangle seemingly pinching a distorted red, white, and blue starred banner.
National Visibility Campaign for the Gay & Lesbian Vote. Pinback Button. Vote 87. 1987. Anacostia Community Museum
CUNY Votes! undated. Anacostia Community Museum
Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats of New York. Gay/Lesbian Vote 85. 1985. Anacostia Community Museum
Button. Vote – American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities. undated. Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Red Corn, Ryan. Native Vote (Obama) 2008 poster and postcards. 2008. National Museum of the American Indian
Political campaign postcard. 2020. National Postal Museum
Susan Krebs. I Want My Vote! 1909 (allegedly). Smithsonian National Museum of American History

The cat seen on the “I want my Vote” postcard is apparently standing in front of the green, white, and purple striped flag of the British suffrage movement. According to an obscure webpage on the John Hopkins University server, this was allegedly anti-suffrage.

A large brown paper shopping bag from 1976 has the safeway logo in red and below appeals to the shopper with red block text that says vote as you please but vote
“Vote” Shopping Bag. 1976. Smithsonian National Museum of American History

These were, of course, just some of the more interesting artifacts our unpaid interns dug up. For hours of wholesome, civic-minded fun we encourage our readers to dig through the entire (very loose) archive over at the Smithsonian.

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And please remember to vote!