Commentary October 31, 2024
What ‘I Voted’ Stickers Look Like Across the U.S. This Election
From turkeys to unicorns and pretty much everything in between, state and county officials are thinking bigger than the classic ‘I Voted’ sticker.
Key Takeaways
• Symbol of Voting & Encouragement: “I Voted” stickers have become a significant symbol of voting and Election Day, serving as a visual reminder to encourage participation and a psychological reward for voting.
• Unique & Creative Designs: Many counties and states hold design contests for “I Voted” stickers, often targeting middle and high school students to engage them in the democratic process – resulting in a variety of memorable designs across states, from a werewolf to a unicorn.
This year’s election will be my first time casting a ballot in-person instead of by mail – which means it’s also the first time I’ll get my very own “I Voted” sticker at the polls.
Those little round stickers have become a symbol of voting and the election process since they first became mainstream in the 1980s. While there isn’t definitive evidence that they improve voter turnout, they are a visual reminder to encourage participation, especially as celebrities or friends share photos from the polls on social media.
And perhaps there’s a bit of psychology in there, too. People like feeling as though they belong to something, but they also like knowing they won’t be judged – in this case, for not voting.
“I think that little reward, that ability to feel proud, it probably helps people maintain the habit of voting,” Rebecca Eissler, assistant professor of political science at San Francisco State University, told Teen Vogue. “Once they’ve done it, they keep doing it in future elections because it feels good.”
My polling location in South Jersey will likely be handing out the classic red, white and blue block-letter stickers – but that’s not the case in other places across the country.
Individual county clerk’s offices or state election offices are often responsible for purchasing the stickers, an expense that adds to the extra millions of dollars injected into the promotional products industry during a presidential election year. And it’s become more common for counties or states to hold design contests for that year’s stickers, often specifically for middle and high school students through partnerships with local schools.
In many cases, these contests are a way to get young people engaged with voting, even if they aren’t of age quite yet. County and state contests often include a “Future Voter” design option for kids to show off their enthusiasm for participating in the democratic process in the years to come.
Many of them have gone viral – during the midterm elections in 2022, stories about Ulster County’s sticker, featuring a bizarre six-legged spider with a humanoid pink-and-purple face, hit almost every major news platform after the quirky design won the county’s design contest by a landslide.
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This year, the top designs in Michigan’s sticker contest have been making headlines for everything from the werewolf aggressively ripping off its shirt in front of the American flag to an “Ope, I voted” sticker that pays homage to the midwestern vernacular.
In states with early voting, this year’s stickers are already circulating – and Michigan’s are far from the only memorable options available.
I’m personally partial to the unicorn from Wake County, North Carolina, and the swanky alligator in Sarasota, Florida. This year’s Ulster County offering, though not nearly as horrifying as the 2022 spider, isn’t too shabby either.
Hover over the points on the map to see some of the more distinctive “I Voted” stickers available across the U.S. this election.