The oval-shaped “I Voted” sticker with the billowing flag has been a staple within American voting culture for decades — so much so that even some absentee ballots include it in the envelope. While the sticker remains ubiquitous as the country’s most beloved participation trophy, many are unaware of its origins.
States and counties across the nation have strayed from the historic sticker, holding contests for original designs that better reflect their local elections. While some areas of the country are phasing out the sticker reward in an effort to save money, 14-year-old Hudson Rowan swept the Ulster County, NY, “I Voted” sticker contest with his viral spider-demon design entry, sparking a renewed interest in voter participation and voting paraphernalia all together.
“We’ve had a lot of fun this year with the sticker contest and are so proud of the positive attention it has brought to the voting process, specifically when it comes to engaging with younger voters,” Commissioner Ashley Dittus of the Ulster County Board of Elections in New York said to Hyperallergic.
It’s unclear where the first voting sticker debuted as they’ve been regionally available through local businesses and organizations post-World War II. The Miami Herald mentions the distribution of an “I Have Voted” sticker at Miami polls as early as 1950 to remind others of their civic duty, and another article from 1982 notes small businesses offering Election Day discounts and freebies for those donning the sticker in Fort Lauderdale. On the other side of the country, the Phoenix Board of Realtors claimed that they designed and distributed the first “I Voted Today” sticker for poll visitors in 1985 in an effort to get better acquainted with the community and promote voter turnout in favor of a freeway expansion query that was on the ballot that year.
The rippling flag sticker design was developed in 1987 by Janet Boudreau, election supply vendor Independent Tabulation’s (InTab) former president, in acknowledgment of the lack of public awareness of Election Day. Boudreau had the design copyrighted, and by late 1988, the stickers were available in all 50 states.
“I wanted them to see people with an ‘I Voted’ sticker and think, ‘Oh, I should do that,’” Boudreau told Time Magazine in 2016. “In terms of civil rights and people protesting against the Vietnam War, we could see populism having a huge effect. Who you’d get in office to pass or kill legislation could mean life or death for some people.”