Some people might say the most exciting part about voting is the rush and sense of pride they feel when completing their civic duty. But for others? The best part is the stickers, and states did not disappoint with this year’s designs.
Obviously, that’s a joke. Voting is crucial to our democracy. But stickers are definitely a great bonus. Even President Joe Biden sported his sticker when he voted early this election season.
In Florida, counties like Miami-Dade gave voters red, white and blue stickers with “I VOTED!” written in Spanish, English and Haitian Creole. The sticker is cute and shows Miami residents’ cultures and backgrounds.
Other states gave out stickers with “I Voted!” printed on top of an American flag.
But compared with Michigan’s werewolf voter sticker, these designs look a little generic.
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Michigan’s ‘I voted’ stickers
Michigan held contests for residents to submit their designs for the 2024 “I voted” sticker, and the nine winners were chosen to be handed out to voters after they cast their ballots.
The winners were split into three groups, and three designs were chosen from each:
Elementary and middle school winners: The werewolf sticker; a simplistic sticker with “I voted yay” written on a blank background and some letters flipped the wrong way; and a sticker showing a man saluting the flag, plus a happy face with “I’m cool” written on top and “I voted” on the bottom.High school winners: A sticker with a little guy surrounded by confetti that says “Hooray” with “I voted” written on the bottom; a buck with multicolored sunglasses and a baseball cap, with “I” colored in to look like the American flag and “voted” written in red, white and blue; and a sticker with “I voted” written in the beam of light coming from a lighthouse at sunset.General entry winners: A patriotic cat with a red, white and blue top hat carrying a picket sign that says “I voted”; a sticker with “Ope, I voted,” written on a swirly red and purple background; and a fish with “I voted” written on its scales.
“The wolf one is a fan favorite,” said Mell Stoner, 18, a history student at Central Michigan University and a first-time voter.
The sticker, which is pictured above, has taken the internet by storm. On it, a muscular werewolf with a visible eight-pack of abs and large biceps is ripping off his tank top while he howls in front of an American flag. “I voted” is written on top in blue and red.
The sensational sticker was created by a Brownell Middle School student in Grosse Point, Michigan.
“I love the stickers,” Stoner said. “I think it was a really good idea, and I’m really glad (the state) got multiple age groups to participate.”
Stoner’s favorite sticker is the fish sticker, with “I voted” written on its upper half, pictured to the right of the werewolf.
“It’s a really great way to get everyone involved in the election without just putting politics in their face.”
Stoner was one of the first people to vote early and received all nine of the sticker designs.
North Carolina’s ‘eye’ voted sticker
Some voters were surprised by the interesting stickers they received when they cast their ballot.
The sticker a poll worker gave Kiersten Maresca, 30, was not what she expected. So, she jumped on TikTok to tell the story because “it was so funny,” and the video went viral.
Maresca thought she was going to get a regular, “patriotic” “I voted” sticker with the American flag in the background, she told USA TODAY. Needless to say, she didn’t.
“I went to put on my cute little patriotic sticker, and I saw it,” she said. “And I was like, ‘That is an eyeball …'”
An eyeball with pink and red tissue attached to it takes up most of the sticker. Below it is the word “voted.”
The punny “eye voted” sticker looks more like something you would find at a horror movie or Halloween convention.
“Did you vote in a Hot Topic?” one person asked in the comment section of Maresca’s video.
“They’re really in the spooky spirit over there,” another said.
But she isn’t “ungrateful” for the unique sticker, as some in the comment section of her video said.
“It was an actual shock,” Maresca told USA TODAY.
Maresca, born and raised in New Jersey, moved to Brunswick County in North Carolina, where she said the people seem “very traditional.” It’s her first time voting in the area
“I couldn’t believe that was the sticker,” she said.
“I need to frame it now.”
A ‘patriotic’ crawfish
Maresca isn’t the only one who wants to frame her sticker. Robby Marshall, a Louisiana native who lives in Baton Rouge, wants to do the same for his.
This year’s sticker “felt personal to Louisiana,” Marshall told USA TODAY.
The state’s “I voted” sticker has a red crawfish − a staple in Louisiana − wearing a blacktop hat, shoes and a white and blue suit.
“It’s a crawfish in a blue suit, so it represents the red and blue, and it’s still patriotic,” he said.
Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry asked Academy Award winner William Joyce, who was born in the southeastern state, to design the sticker for the 2024 election season, Joel Watson, the state’s deputy secretary of state for communications, told USA TODAY.
Joyce, who wrote and illustrated children’s books like “Rolie Polie Olie,” “A Day with Wilbur Robinson” and more, changed up the usual “I voted” sticker for 2024.
“It’s very different,” Watson said. “You know, most (states stickers) are very unique to one another, but this one is certainly, I would say, most unique.”
Feeling ‘hopeful’
Marshall wants to frame his sticker not only because he likes the design but also because of its meaning and the hope this year’s election gives him.
“For me, it was being able to vote for the first female person of color for president,” Marshall said. “That’s something that’s very historic.”
Marshall wanted to keep his sticker from 2016, when he voted for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but the polling place had run out of stickers when he cast his ballot, he said.
“Regardless of whether or not (Harris) wins, I was able to play a part.”
Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. You can connect with her on LinkedIn, follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com