Election Never-Land
An interactive game and data timeline about how long it has taken (and is still taking) to reach diversity and inclusion milestones in U.S. electoral politics.
- 1870 First Black member of Congress81 years
- 1916 First woman elected to Congress127 years
- 1956 First Asian American elected to Congress167 years
- 1968 First Black woman elected to Congress179 years
- 2008 First Black president219 years
- 2020 First woman elected vice president231 years
- Not yet First woman president237+ years and counting
What it is
Election Never-Land pairs a game with a map and timeline. Through play and interaction, visitors can better understand and appreciate the U.S. journey toward inclusion in electoral representation.
Why I work on it
When the team built the first version of this in 2018, the facts we gathered stunned me. While circumstances have improved, there's still room for more, and I resurrected this project to help communicate that.
What's different
- It counts the wait, not just the win. Every milestone is measured in years since 1789.
- Some bars don't end. The "Never-Land" is the milestones that haven't been reached yet.
- A game, not just a chart Wouldn't we all prefer play to a lecture?
- Make your own version All sources and original data are available for download.
Check it out!
Election Never-Land lives right here on travelinreid.