DeBlog: How Much Do We Spend On 'I Voted' Stickers?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- It's probably the most Instagrammed and Facebooked photo of the day: the red "I Voted" sticker. Cindi Houtkooper from Minneapolis emailed, Greg Swan from Chaska tweeted (passed onto me by @CatherineEngel) asking: How much do we spend on the stickers? Who pays for them?
I checked with the Secretary of State's office, and indeed, the state buys the sticker and distributes them to local election officials.
"The Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State purchases the "I Voted" stickers to promote voter participation," said assistant communications director Pat Turgeon. "The stickers cost $.002368 per sticker."
Turgeon told me the office ordered 4.2 million stickers this year at a cost of $10,182. Some have asked if the stickers are made in the USA, Turgeon said they're ordered through Office Max. She's pretty sure she designed them, too (part of her gig at the SOS's office).
There's good research that supports the value of an "I Voted" sticker. Yale University researchers found that emphasizing high turnout motivates on-the-fence voters (via The Atlantic).
When you see an "I Voted" sticker, it reinforces that you should also go vote. For two-tenths of a cent per sticker, it's not a bad investment, right?
