Thought everyone would like some fun facts about elections! 

1. The United States is ranked 139th out of 172 countries in voter participation.
2. The first election to use a voting machine was in 1892.
3. Jimmy Carter was the first president born in a hospital.
4. George Washington was the only president who did not represent a political party.
5. Herbert Hoover approved “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem.
6. George Washington blew his entire campaign budget on 160 gallons of liquor to serve to potential voters.
7. It wasn’t until 1856 that Congress removed property ownership as a requirement to vote in elections.
8. In 1845, Congress decided that voting day would be the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, which was after the fall harvest and before winter conditions made travel too difficult.
9. Cartoonist Thomas Nash is credited with creating both the Republican and Democratic symbols, the elephant and the donkey, respectively, when he lampooned the political parties in a cartoon in Harper’s Weekly magazine in 1874. Soon people everywhere began using those symbols to represent the parties.

If you thought this was fun, join us Tuesday for more election fun with Todd Kamenash and Dominique Bollenbacher! 

Happy election week all!

Rachel