Nine stamps with the legend Disqualified are read on the front of the electoral file of former President Juan Domingo Perón. Next to some of these marks are dates dated between 1956 and 1957, when the general had already gone into exile. That small piece of paper, a historical relic, catches the eye before the amount of information it gives off, to the point that we ignore the fact that under it stands the file of the also former president, Carlos Saul Menem.
Electoral cards, wooden ballot boxes, ballots from old elections, old lists and different elements that were used during the election days and that today were disused are part of the brand new Electoral Museum inaugurated by the National Electoral Chamber at its headquarters on 25 de Mayo Street. The space arises 40 years after the return of democracy and as an opening to citizens to know the heritage that the highest court treasures in electoral matters.
The museography, by Gabriel Miremont, was designed from panels and showcases that propose an internal and an external route. In addition, the roofs of these, observable from the galleries of the upper floors of the building inaugurated in 1897 to be the headquarters of the National Mortgage Bank, were used.
From scratch
Among the treasures preserved by the Chamber is the file number 0,000,001 of the electoral roll, made after the sanction of the Sáenz Peña Law that universalized the vote. It corresponds to Marcelo T. de Alvear, president at that time, while the 000,000,002 belonged to the then Minister of War, Agustín Justo. The first census was made on the military registry, hence voting with the Enlistment Book.
In addition to Perón's electoral record, the Chamber has the files of former presidents Hipólito Yrigoyen and Carlos Menem, the socialist leader Alfredo Palacios, and Alicia Moreau de Justo. While those of the men differ by being crossed by a red stripe, that of the feminist leader has the particularity of being green, which corresponded to the naturalized Argentines.
The electoral record that belonged to Juan Domingo Perón.
The cards were stored in large metal files, about two meters high, which were stored in the basement of the building. With the digitization of information, much of this material was recycled and today only a small part is preserved. In the old days the employees of the Chamber snaked the gray rows, almost like a maze, in search of the cards with orders to update or modify.
"We are in charge not only of the National Registry of Voters, but also the National Registry of Political Parties, the Disabled Registry, among others," explained the president of the National Electoral Chamber, Alberto Dalla Via. The court is also made up of judges Santiago Corcuera and Daniel Bejas.
The judges who make up the National Electoral Chamber tour the brand new Electoral Museum.
The Electoral Museum seeks to commemorate 40 years of uninterrupted democracy and open to the public the constant work of the Chamber that intensifies the election years. The exhibition will remain permanent and they plan to participate in The Night of the Museums.
"We have economic and social problems, but when it comes to voting, we live it as a civic party. Families get together, discuss how they fared at the polling place. We have had many crises since 83 to date, we can list a few: early elections, the corralito and yet each time the citizenship went and redoubled participation. We come out of the crises voting," Dalla Via said in statements to the press after the inauguration.
A long way
The exhibition has an external and an internal tour. The external panels list chronologically the most relevant events in the history of Argentine elections and political parties.
We discovered that the notion of elections can be traced back to the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, when members of the cabildos chose their successors. After the revolutionary processes, the vote – whether indirect or in the framework of tumultuous popular assemblies – emerged as a fundamental piece among unstable forms of government.
For almost a cycle there was debate about who could vote, how it should be done, whether it should be mandatory or voluntary, among other issues. In 1912 the Sáenz Peña Law was sanctioned that put an end to several discussions, although it was necessary to wait until the 40s for the vote to also be a right for women.
"Of course the Sáenz Peña Law was a very important step because we went to secret ballots. Before there was the sung vote and we already know how it was manipulated, "said the president of the Chamber and recalled an anecdote linked to the conservative leader Manuel Fresco.
The National Electoral Chamber operates in the old building of the Mortgage Bank inaugurated in 1897. Press photo CNE
"He said that the secret ballot was not a man's thing because men had to say the vote out loud and that the secret ballot created an unmanly race. Things have changed a lot. Today we have equal participation. It has increased, we have gender parity, but the participation of people who were previously excluded has also increased," he added.
In the internal tour, the exhibition presents original elements that were preserved from different periods, while others have photographic records, such as the list of candidates for deputies for the UCR of 1918 headed by José Tamborini.
Original telegrams from 1973 are exhibited informing the National Electoral Chamber of the results of the presidential elections in Santa Fe; wooden urns from different eras and designs; ballots; rubber stamps used by table authorities; campaign pamphlets of the Tamborini – Mosca formula of 1945; pins of the parties that contested the presidency in 1983; electoral rolls used in the first election after the return of democracy; and a lectern used in the 2019 presidential debate where visitors can take photos.
The National Electoral Chamber inaugurated the Electoral Museum. Press photo CNE
In another of the internal tours of the panels, reproductions of the different presidential ballots used by the two most voted formulas in each election since the democratic recovery in 1983 to date are shown.
Campaign posters were also reproduced, and records of newspapers and magazines, both national and international, which show the importance for the population to recover the voting instance after the military dictatorship.
"After 40 years, even in complex situations, the way out is political alternation," said Dalla Via, who in turn admitted that "our electoral system could be improved in many aspects," but there is still "confidence that whoever wins the election is the result of the popular will."
Token
Electoral Museum
Where: 25 de Mayo 245.
When: To coordinate visits send email to cnelectoral.comunicaciones@pjn.gov.ar
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