Frequently Answered Questions

What is the Election Day Advent Calendar?

Just as a traditional Advent calendar counts down the days to Christmas, the Election Day Advent Calendar counts down the days up to Election Day. You’ll still get to open one little door each day, but instead of opening up to winter scenes, you’ll reveal key moments in the history of our electoral process, narrated by the likes of Teddy Roosevelt, Susan B. Anthony, and Jon Stewart.

What do I do with the Election Day Advent Calendar?

Hang the Election Day Advent Calendar with a push pin, magnet, or on a hook. Where?

• Start with one on your fridge. Have your children open one door each day during breakfast. Be prepared to answer questions like, why you “Like Ike,” or why we have an “Electoral College.”
• If you are a teacher, make sure you have one in the classroom. You can reward the teacher’s pet by letting them open a window. Or, conversely, you can punish the trouble makers by having them open a window. Either way, they just might learn something they missed in their recently-cut civics class.
• For those of you who spend your days toiling in a cubicle, think of the Election Day Advent Calendar as the trojan horse of democracy. It appears at first as a colorful collage. Then, window after window, reveals, get this, information and inspiration about why we vote, and the awesome struggles that made it possible to do so. Scandalous, we know.
• Running for school board in New Jersey? State legislature in Colorado? City Council in Georgia? I bet your campaign office is a predictable melange of bumper stickers and signs. Why not liven things up a little with the Election Day Advent Calendar, reminding your staff just how few days you have left to knock on 5,000 doors?

What does the Election Day Advent Calendar look like?

The front of the Election Day Advent Calendar is a collage of a fantastical Election Day scene. Little dated windows cover the scene, concealing behind a series of images, quotes, and facts. The Calendar measures 11" in width and 17" in height.

When is Election Day this year (2006)?

The General Election in the United States is held on November 7th, the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

When does the Election Day Advent Calendar start?

Open the first door on the Calendar on Tuesday, October 10th.

Does it have chocolate inside?

Let me rephrase that—do regular Advent calendars have democracy inside? No? Well, we don't have chocolate. Maybe next time the Calendar will have gum or fruit leather.

Who makes the Calendar?

It’s a production of Gerrymander, a new Chicago-based company that makes fun political stuff. More specifically, it was made by Paul Smith and Ben Helphand, who started Gerrymander, and designed by Andrew Seay, with help from Sam Helphand and Phoebe Connelly, among others.

Why are you doing this?

Gerrymander believes that our great nation deserves great civic rituals, as well as rituals to support and celebrate the other rituals, like voting. Voting has had a bit of a cough of late, so we thought it could use a little TLC, in the form of, you guessed it, an appropriated Christmas custom. Democracy has to be something more than punditry. We wanted to create an experience that would build excitement for Election Day, something to celebrate the right to vote while at the same time making something fun for the whole family.

Are you mocking Christmas?

No, to the contrary, it's because the traditional Advent calendar is such an iconic and successful custom that we chose to borrow its structure. Traditional Advent calendars have the same edifying and communal effect on Christmas and the Christmas season through their daily use and family-centered presence that we’re trying to introduce for Election Day and the electioneering season.

People can be understandably sensitive and protective about their religious customs. We mean to pay respect to the traditional Advent calendar while we adapt it to support the central ritual of civil society—voting.

Are you Democrats or Republicans? (Or Greens or Whigs or American Reforms or Anti-Masonics … etc.)

Ben and Paul happen to be Democrats, but the Calendar is non-partisan! It has equal numbers Republicans & Democrats! (With a sprinkling of "miscellaneous"!) Really, you can check! <crossingourfingers/>

So, just as you’d put one on your fridge at home, go ahead and post one on the bulletin board at work or in your classroom. This calendar is a celebration of the right to vote itself. Whom you vote for is your business.

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