How America Elects a President
An educational poster series designed by Fletcher/Forbes/Gill in 1964 explains the process of choosing a US President in a complicated democracy.
No. 1 - How America elects a President
Sixty years ago Pentagram precursor Fletcher/Forbes/Gill designed “How America elects a President,” an educational poster series explaining the process of choosing a President in our complicated democracy. The project was commissioned by the Sunday Telegraph in advance of the 1964 Presidential Election, in which Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson ultimately defeated Republican Senator Barry Goldwater in a landslide victory.
The series was prepared by an Anglo-American committee of scholars from University College London, the London School of Economics and Harvard University, among others, for the now-defunct United States Information Service (USIS), a former US agency devoted to public diplomacy and cultural exchange.
Intended for a UK audience, the 15 posters explain the complex and indirect US electoral system (“The people cast their votes for President and Vice President but the President is NOT elected by getting more votes than his opponent in the nation at large”) and note the typically lengthy campaign as “the most strenuous political feat in the world.”
Illustrations by Bob Gill.
No. 1 - How America elects a President
No. 2 - The election will take place on 3 Nov 1964
No. 3 - How did the Presidential candidates get on the ballot?
No. 4 - What do the Conventions do?
No. 5 - Who is a possible Presidential candidate?
No. 6 - How do delegates make up their minds?
No. 7 - How are delegates to the Conventions chosen?
No. 8 - The 1964 Conventions
No. 9 - The campaign begins
No.10 - Principles & Patronage
No.11 - The most strenuous political feat in the world
No.12 - Who are qualified to vote?
No.13 - The electoral system
No.14 - Voting
No.15 - The Inauguration
And don’t forget to vote!
No. 2 - The election will take place on 3 Nov 1964
No. 3 - How did the Presidential candidates get on the ballot?
No. 4 - What do the Conventions do?
No. 5 - Who is a possible Presidential candidate?
No. 6 - How do delegates make up their minds?
No. 7 - How are delegates to the Conventions chosen?
No. 8 - The 1964 Conventions
No. 9 - The campaign begins
No.10 - Principles & Patronage
No. 11 - The most strenuous political feat in the world
No. 12 - Who are qualified to vote?
No. 13 - The electoral system
No. 14 - Voting
No. 15 - The Inauguration
