1916 Kokomo Incorporation Election

The **1916 Kokomo Incorporation Election** was an election that was created to decide if the newly created settlement of Kokomo would go with the designation of unincorporated or incorporated. The election took place in the unincorporated area, and the results were revealed at what is now the **Independence Hall**, which is now located next to the **Big Bend Residential Reserve**. It took place from March-May 1916, and it led to the city's incorporation on July 7th, 1916.

## Procedure

### Planning

The election was planned out in **Independence Hall** in November 1915, when the government decided to make Kokomo and independent and incorporated city in Taylor County, Florida. However, the city was mixed with this decision, as, for one side, they wanted to keep the city as a "happy little town" and not have noisy development. On the other hand, though, many people wanted to see their favorite city grow into a massive, bustling metropolis that would take the nation by storm, like New York City. It was eventually decided that an election was necessary, as a dead heat was created with both opinions, as they were nearly even. Originally, the election was set to take place in December of 1915, but an unexpected storm surge in Late November caused minimal-moderate damage to the city. Due to this, the election had to be moved to March of 1916.

### The Election

#### March

March 27th, 1916 marked the beginning of the election. There were two parties (people who voted for a circumstance) in the election: The **Inclusionist Party**, which wanted the city to become incorporated, which would lead to years of development by the Floridian government, and the **Rejectionist Party**, which were a group that weren't okay with the decision of turning the city into one that would be controlled and funded by the Floridian government. By the end of March, around 815 votes were sent, with 217 votes coming from the Rejectionists and 598 votes coming from the Inclusionists.

#### April

The election became mainstream in April, and due to this, more people voted for both sides as the city was filled with vote ballots. Many more people heard of both sides and decided to join either one of them. The government decided to put up advertisements such as **"Support Kokomo: Vote for Incorporation!"** and **"Support Kokomo: Let It Stay!"** as campaigns for the event. By the end of April, around 5,013 votes were sent, with 2,174 votes coming from the Rejectionists and 2,839 votes coming from the Inclusionists.

#### May

The month of May was the last month for the election and was the biggest and most exciting month for the election. Because it was the last month of the election, multiple campaigns from both sides began, such as the **"Incorporation Depends on You!"** campaign began for the Inclusionist party, and the **"Make Unincorporation Count!"** campaign for the Rejectionist party. The election ended on May 30th, 1916, and the results were revealed: 19,127 votes from both parties, with 10,001 votes coming from the Inclusionists and 9,126 votes coming from the Rejectionists.

### Incorporation

As seen from the results, the Inclusionists won the voting battle by 875 votes, and Kokomo was officially announced to be incorporated on June 9th. One month later, on July 7th, 1916, Kokomo was officially declared as an incorporated city in Taylor County, thus opening the doors to over a century of development that was to come.

## Legacy

The election is still seen as an extraordinary milestone to Kokomoans, as the city wouldn't have been where it was now had the Rejectionists won. In May 1987, the election won TIME's "Antique Election of the Year", stating that "The city, and maybe even the United States, would've been different without this milestone of an event. Kudos to whoever lived as an Inclusionist!" Kokomo recognizes this event in their anniversaries, such as their 50th anniversary in 1966, which comprised of a major event in the **Vintage Dome**, and their 100th anniversary in 2016, called "**100 Years of Kokomo!**", which comprised of two grand openings and eight events through seven days that operated daily to keep citizens enticed.