The Library of Virginia has a variety of records in several collections (Secretary of the Commonwealth, Office of the Governor, Virginia General Assembly, etc.)  related to the Virginia Electoral College from 1789 to 2008.    Today, copies of the Certificate of Ascertainment and Certificate of Vote are transferred to the Library by the Virginia State Board of Elections.  The Certificate of Ascertainment lists the names of the electors appointed and the number of votes cast for each person during the general election.  The Certificate of Vote lists the totals for the Electoral College.  Additional records related to the 2008 Virginia Electoral College are included in the Governor Tim Kaine Administration Web Archive Collection.  You can read Governor Tim Kaine’s address to the 2008 Electoral College and view photographs of the event.

-Roger Christman, Senior State Records Archivist

*Original post slightly edited for clarity

Last week President Barack Obama made minor news when he incorrectly signed the guest book at Westminster Abbey in London “24 May 2008.” Obama did not make the same mistake when, as a U.S. senator from Illinois and Democratic presidential candidate, he signed the guest book at the Virginia Executive Mansion on 17 February 2007.  Obama was the keynote speaker at the state Democratic Party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Richmond.  Governor Tim Kaine endorsed Obama for president that night, becoming the first governor outside of Illinois to endorse a 2008 candidate for president.  The guest book page signed by Obama is a good example of what archivists call a record with secondary value.  The Society of American Archivists defines secondary value as “the usefulness or significance of records based on purposes other than that for which they were originally created.”  The significance of the guest book is derived from future events:  Obama winning the 2008 presidential election and Kaine’s importance as an early supporter.  Another example of secondary value is a 21 July 1987 letter written by Mark R. Warner to Governor Gerald L. Baliles.  The content of the letter is quite ordinary – a young businessman wants to get involved in Virginia politics and requests a meeting with the governor.  The letter’s secondary value originates from Warner’s election as governor in 2001 and United States senator in 2008.  When archivists appraise records to determine their permanent value, their primary concern is secondary value.

-Roger Christman, Senior State Records Archivist