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California Votes: Exercise Your Right!

Description

This exhibit is now retired, but still available as an online exhibit! Visit our online exhibits page to learn more.

Encourage political engagement and demystify voting terms and processes through this non-partisan, bilingual exhibit, available as both a physical traveling exhibit and printable poster exhibit.

Colorful pieces of construction paper are attached to popsicle sticks and strewn about a table. One paper says
An easy-to-create interactive station for California Votes.
A California flag waves over text reading
Representative political poster in the exhibition. California State Library.
A text panel and images are mounted on the wall of a museum. Artifacts are nearby in a covered case.
Representative installation image from the San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum, Lodi, CA.

Despite California’s influence on our nation’s politics, voter turnout in California falls below the national average. While the political focus is usually at the federal and state levels, local political issues have a greater impact on our everyday lives. In both English and Spanish, California Votes: Exercise Your Right! breaks down the importance of voting, demystifies referendums and ballot measures, highlights political ephemera in your collection, and encourages your visitors to make their voices heard on the local, state, and national levels.

Topics covered include:

  • The mechanics of voting in California
  • Political basics, including political parties and types of ballot measures
  • African American and women’s suffrage

California Votes: Exercise Your Right! originated at the San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum as San Joaquin Votes: Exercise Your Right!

Specs

Audience:
General
Rental Fee:
Physical Traveling Exhibit: RETIRED!
Online Exhibit: Still available! Visit our online exhibit page (linked above) for more information.
Size:
Physical Traveling Exhibit: ~85 linear ft.
Languages:
English, Spanish
Security:
Limited
Installation Images:
View Here

Traveling Exhibit Components:

  • 9 large didactic text panels in English and Spanish (24″H x 36″W and 27″H x 39″W)
  • 3 large maps of California congressional, state assembly, and state senate districts
  • Reproductions of historic, statewide ephemera (photographs, flyers, census pages, etc.)
  • Suggestions of voting-related and political 2D and 3D artifacts to augment the exhibit
  • Suggestions for budget-friendly interactives/hands-on activities within the gallery
  • Press kit, programming suggestions, and topical resource listings

Schedule and Availability

Physical Exhibit Schedule (online exhibit always available!):

October 25, 2020 – December 20, 2020
August 14, 2022 – October 9, 2022
Museum on Main, Pleasanton, CA
September 29, 2024 – November 10, 2024 (6 weeks)

The physical exhibit retired in early 2025, but the online version will continue to be available.