[Image via KTUU]

Election Day is two weeks from tomorrow and I know there is a ton of election news, but LOOK EVERYBODY ALASKA HAS COOL “I VOTED” STICKERS FOR EARLY VOTERS AND THEY ARE INCREDIBLE. KTUU has more:

Do you want an adorable animal sticker, or the stand-by “I Voted” sticker? The Alaska Division of Elections is giving you a choice, but only if you vote ahead of time.

The DOE rolled out the stickers during the 2018 Alaska Federation of Natives Conference this week, but there’s a catch on how to get them – you have to vote early.

According to a statement by the Division, voter turnout is a big focus in the November elections, and the stickers are an extension of that goal.

“Voter engagement is a critical component to our elections process and we are excited to present Alaskans with more fun opportunities to share with their communities that they’ve participated on Election Day,” said State Elections Director Josie Bahnke.

Polling locations will still have the traditional blue and gold “I Voted” stickers on hand on Election Day, but early voting stations will have the animal options.

Early voting for the General Election begins Monday October 22, 2018 at approximately 188 early voting locations, the DOE stated.

The drawings themselves come from Juneau resident Pat Race, who worked with DOE to come up with the Alaska-themed stickers. The animals featured on the stickers include a beaver, caribou, crab, eagle, walrus, and more.

The DOE offices will also have stickers that come in a variety of translated versions in Alaska Native languages along with Spanish and Tagalog relative to their regions. [below – DMCj]

Setting aside how fantastic these stickers look, the idea of using “premium” (my word) stickers to encourage early voting is an interesting tactic – and the results could tell us a lot about the power of giveaways like this to shift voters away from Election Day voting. Until then, kudos to Alaska for the planning and execution of this effort … stay tuned!

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