Internet enamored by a 14-year-old’s captivating 'I Voted' sticker in county contest

Ulster County in New York is asking for a public online vote — they’re getting a landslide.
By Rizwana Zafer  on 
the drawing of the ivoted sticker
Credit: Ulster County

Ulster County’s second annual 'Ulster Votes I Voted Sticker Contest' is another reminder of the internet's power in online voting, and a 14-year-old’s sticker submission is inspiring new hope for Gen Z.

During the month of July, folks have the opportunity to vote for their favorite sticker design. The winning sticker will be distributed to all Ulster County voters who participate in the November 8, 2022, General Election. This year, the contest had eight finalists from the county between the ages of 13 and 18. Hudson's sticker has gathered about 51,300 votes, a whopping 94 percent of the total votes.  It's pretty clear why folks are enjoying it.

Screenshot of all sticker finalists.
The finalists of Ulster County's 2nd Annual "I Voted" Sticker competition. Credit: Courtesy of Ulster County Board of Elections

"I did not think I was going to get as much attention as I did," Hudson told the Times Herald-Record.

"I was the first person from our office to ever see his design and I remember that moment vividly," said Ashley Dittus, Democratic commissioner for the Board of Elections. "I even printed it out and brought it around to everyone in the office because I thought it was so cool. Everyone agreed."

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Hudson’s sticker has also gone viral on TikTok, with user toucannabanana captioning her video “Gen Z is more powerful than we ever could have imagined.”

Screenshot of TikTok video.
Credit: TikTok / toucannabanana

Twitter is also quite taken with Hudson’s design, with some even speculating that it might incentivize voters to participate in the general election:

"I think that no matter who our voters are coming out to vote for this fall, they will be leaving with something unique and different and I hope it will put a smile on their face," says Dittus. "We want people, especially young people, to know that their votes count and that their voice matters."

Hudson’s design might have the most votes right now, but the sticker competition is open to voters until the end of July, so get your votes in.

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Rizwana Zafer

Rizwana Zafer is the culture intern at Mashable.


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