In the 1930s, then-Indiana Gov. Paul McNutt had his heart set on being president.
Then, Franklin D. Roosevelt decided to seek a third term in office, shutting down the former Franklin resident’s presidential aspirations.
In honor of Election Day, relics from McNutt’s short-lived presidential campaign, a voting booth believed to be used between 1910 and 1920 in Indiana, voting ledgers from the county and countless other items from elections and campaigns as early as the 1800s will be on display at the Johnson County Museum of History.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThe “Doing Your Civic Duty: The Evolution of Voting” exhibit opens today and offers a glimpse at the political history of Johnson County and the evolution of how Americans choose the people who lead them.
“Historians look for anniversaries,” museum director David Pfeiffer said. “This is the voting history from the last 200 years.”
Other famous, local political figures will be featured, such as Frances Helton, one of the first women to be elected to an office in Johnson County. And Roger Branigin, Indiana’s governor from Franklin, will have his political story told in the exhibit.
Voters also will be able to see how the process of selecting leaders has changed since the 19th century, museum curator Emily Spuhler said.
For example, in the 1820s, voters could only select who would be their governor and lieutenant governor, while electors decided which presidential candidate deserved Indiana’s electoral votes.
Poll workers would stand in front of voting booths to make sure each voter casting a ballot had at least 50 feet of privacy and quiet. States had a 35-day window to conduct an election, versus the one-day, nationwide general election the country has today.
“(It’s) reminding people that voting today isn’t like voting (in history),” she said.
Part of the exhibit will focus on who could vote and what politicians did to court votes. An interactive part of the exhibit will help visitors determine when they would have earned the right to vote.
Campaign materials have changed too, Spuhler said.
While politicians today try to woo voters with advertisements, T-shirts and bumper stickers, early politicians had to be more creative.
They put their names on emery boards and told voters to “file away a vote.” Their names also were put on feathers and ashtrays.
“Whatever you could slap a name on,” she said.
Materials for the exhibit were gathered from all across the state, with some already being collected by the museum.
The museum also went through McNutt and Branigin’s files in Indiana and were given materials for the exhibit, which will be open through March.
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What: Opening of “Doing your Civic Duty: The Evolution of Voting” exhibit.
When: 6 to 8 p.m. today. The exhibit will be open through March.
Where: Johnson County Museum of History, 135 N. Main St., Franklin.
Cost: Free
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