History of the “I Voted” Sticker

Regardless of state, millions of people in United States wears an “I Voted” sticker on his chest Election Dayan accessory that probably appeared in the late 1980s.

Phoenix Association of Realtors Arizona said it was the first to distribute these stickers in Phoenix and Maricopa counties in 1985, and National Campaign Delivery claimed to have started selling them in 1986.

However, the stickers could last longer. Miami Herald mentioned the distribution of “I Voted” stickers at polling stations in Miami 1950. A 1982 article noted that small businesses began offering discounts and free gifts on Election Day to those wearing the sticker in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

In 1984, then-Vice President George H. W. Bush received a sticker that read, “I voted today, did you?” in Houston, Texas, when he cast his ballot in the presidential election, according to a report that day United Press International telegraph service.

Initially, stickers were provided by local businesses or groups such as the League of Women Voters to demonstrate commitment to civic life. By 1988, they had become commonplace in the United States.

The most common oval-shaped sticker with the American flag and the simple words “I Voted” can be seen on election supply company Intab in 1987.

Janet Boudreaux, who previously ran the company, said Time magazine she was shocked at how many people didn’t realize it was Election Day.

“I wanted them to see people with an ‘I Voted’ sticker and think, ‘Oh, I should do that,'” she said.

She said the sticker was a result of her growing up in the 1960s and ’70s when she realized the power of voting.

“In terms of civil rights and people protesting the Vietnam War, we could see populism having a huge effect. Whoever comes into power to pass or repeal a law could mean life or death for some people,” Boudreaux said.

When “I Voted” stickers became commonplace in the 1980s, they became an American symbol. In Illinois, they are even enshrined in state law.

The stickers are cheap, costing less than the penny a piece that local governments typically pay. Intab still sells its stickers for $7 per roll of 10,000. The company sells more than 30 million stickers a year, according to the company. San Jose Mercury News.

“Others claim to have created the design, but I copyrighted it a long time ago,” Boudreau said.

In 2024, many states are moving away from traditional “I Voted” stickers. Some jurisdictions offer multiple languages, while others have government-specific versions.

Michigan held an “I Voted” sticker contest this year. Nine participants won, and the wolf sticker gained significant popularity on social networks.

“The nine winning designs will be available for clerks to order and distribute to voters this fall as the state’s official 2024 presidential election stickers,” the press release states. pic.twitter.com/UFhqbnnr5u

— Craig Mauger (@CraigDMauger) September 4, 2024

However, all projects have one thing in common: they are designed to help people silently demonstrate that they voted, while simultaneously putting indirect pressure on those who did not. Earlier stickers from the 1980s and ’90s were more explicit and contained messages such as “I voted, how about you?” like the one Bush Sr. wore.

However, it is unclear whether the stickers will increase voter turnout. Political experts spoke about this. San Jose Mercury News that voters are sometimes motivated by peer pressure and the desire to be part of a movement that will be present with or without a sticker.

“Social influence has played a critical role in political mobilization,” said James Fowler, a professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego. “It’s not the ‘I voted’ button or the lapel sticker we’ve all seen that gives you a vote. This is a person who is attached to it.”

As early voting grows in popularity in the US (as of October 31, more than 55 million voters have already cast ballots in the 2024 election), voting on Election Day has become less of a communal experience than it used to be.

During the 2010 midterm elections, Facebook tested the personalized online version “I Voted” sticker as part of the experiment. Users were able to place a sticker on their profile and view a list of friends who also voted. By clicking on the sticker, users were taken to a web page with information about where and how they could vote.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Facebook said turnout among users who viewed both pages increased by 0.6%, resulting in 340,000 more people voting.

Yet even in the digital age, physical stickers continue to have symbolic meaning for some voters. In Rochester, New York grave Susan B. Anthony, a pioneer of women’s suffrage, remains open throughout election night as women voters make a meaningful gesture by placing their stickers on her grave.