Michigan voters invited to review, help choose the 2026 "I Voted" sticker designs
Michigan's hugely popular "I Voted" sticker project has reached the next stage for the 2026 election season, with the public invited to choose their favorites among 30 semifinalists.
More than 2,000 entries were submitted this year, and the Michigan Secretary of State announced the semifinalists on Monday. As with the 2024 contest, nine of them will become the official sticker choices for 2026.
"When we launched the 'I Voted' sticker contest in 2024, we had no idea it would become a cultural phenomenon," said Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.
There are three age brackets: grades K-8, grades 9-12 and general entry / all ages. The Michigan Collegiate Student Advisory Task Force narrowed the choices to this point.
Michigan's rules include adding the phrase "I Voted" to the design and featuring nonpartisan, original artwork.
The designs under consideration for this year include Michigan symbols and official animals such as white-tailed deer, Petoskey stones and the American robin. There are views of the Mackinac Bridge, the Spirit of Detroit statue and construction barrels. Pizza, ice cream and coney dogs provide designs with "regional flavor."
The public can cast their online votes until June 30.
The chosen stickers will be available for local election clerks to order for their voters before the Nov. 3 election.
The "I Voted" sticker has been a grassroots Election Day tradition since the 1980s, with communities and states often creating unique designs to distribute to those who visit the polling places on Election Day. Following up on that trend, Michigan launched a contest in 2024 to invite the state's young and old artists to contribute their ideas.
The howling werewolf design created by Grosse Pointe student Jayne Hynous for the 2024 "I Voted" series became so popular that individual werewolf stickers were selling for hundreds of dollars online.
