Break out the top hat, tails and spats, y’all. It’s election time again.
So sayeth Louisiana’s “I Voted” sticker, depicting the most dapper crawfish you ever did see. Unveiled July 8 in a ceremony befitting such a celebrity, the Bayou State’s 2024 ambassador for achievement in adhesives was designed by William Joyce, an Academy Award-winning artist from Shreveport. Joyce cleverly calls his creation “Mark de Ballot.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Tuesday is National Voter Registration Day, a nonpartisan event celebrated each September that urges people to participate in democracy. In Georgia, the deadline to register to vote in the November presidential election is Oct. 7.
When Georgians cast their ballots, many will receive the state’s perennially popular peach sticker. But other polling sites are bucking the classic red, white and blah trend of professionally produced patriotism.
These days, it’s often America’s schoolchildren who are designing the sought-after “I Voted” stickers. And their output — pardon the egregious grammar — ain’t your mama’s memento.
Credit: Wake Co. Board of Elections
Credit: Wake Co. Board of Elections
In Manatee County, Florida, a variety of sea cows sun themselves in the name of suffrage. Not to be outdone, Sarasota County voters will get a grinning gator floating in an American flag inner tube for their electoral efforts.
North Carolina boasts a soaring unicorn ridden by an exuberant early voter. Shannon Fisher, then a rising sixth grade student at Neuse River Middle School, won the Wake County Board of Elections sticker design contest in June 2023. Her drawing has been displayed at early voting locations throughout all 2024 elections.
Meanwhile, Mark de Ballot is set to step out on the town as Election Day nears in November. The sticker’s creator hopes voters head out to the polls — even if they leave the finery at home and dress down for the occasion.
“While making (the design), I thought about how it feels to vote,” Joyce said, in a statement. “For me it feels fantastic. Like I matter. Like I make a difference. Regardless of political party, democracy is a song everyone loves, so let’s vote and go to the freedom dance!”
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