[Images via insidenova and dispatch]

One fun new trend in the election world has been the development of community-specific “I Voted” stickers for use at the polls. Yesterday, election officials in Ohio and Arlington County, VA unveiled the winners of their contests to choose a new sticker, giving voters a first look at the items that will grace their lapels on Election Day. Here’s the story from Ohio via cincinnati.com:

Ohio voters will have a new “I voted” sticker to affix to their lapels, hats and laptops after casting ballots this fall.

The sticker has the words “Ohio Voted” inside a red and blue outline of the state. The letter “i” in Ohio and “voted” are in red, so the sticker says “I voted” and “Ohio voted.”

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said the stickers will be available as early as this fall in some polling places. Stickers are bought by his office and distributed to Ohio’s 88 county boards of elections.

Local elections officials will use the rest of their old stickers before transitioning to the new sticker design, so you might not get a new sticker next time you vote.

The sticker was designed by Emily Legg, a senior at Teays Valley High School in Pickaway County.

“Go out there and use your voice to vote and now you have fresh new art to wear after you vote,” Legg said at a Tuesday news conference unveiling the sticker.

LaRose called on Ohio students to submit designs for the new sticker. More than 2,000 designs were submitted. LaRose staffers chose the three they thought were the best.

More than 15,500 votes were cast online for the designs. Voters were asked to provide an email address and zip code. LaRose said it’s possible non-Ohioans falsified that information but he hoped not.

“This wasn’t just about a sticker – it was about getting young Ohioans excited about voting,” LaRose said.

Arlington County, VA held a vote to choose a new sticker as well – and it was incredibly close, according to insidenova:

Perhaps it was a message from above that, indeed, every vote does count.

By a very slim margin – 0.18 percent – an image of Arlington’s commercial horizon was selected as the first locally produced “I Voted” sticker of the Arlington elections office.

“Shout It from the Skyline,” a submission by county resident John Musco, was chosen in public voting from among five finalists. The results of the inaugural competition were presented May 21 to County Board members.

It took four rounds of instant-runoff (ranked-choice) balloting, but “Shout It from the Skyline”… narrowly defeated “Voting, the Language of Arlington’s Diversity,” designed by Anna Radjou, to become Arlington’s first local “I Voted” sticker. Radjou’s submission will not go to waste; it will be offered to those who vote absentee.

These homegrown stickers – featuring a subway map in New York City, cartoon animals in Alaska and other local flavor – are one of the latest ways election officials seek to drive awareness of, and interest in, the voting process. Given the expressed envy I’ve seen online from other communities, don’t be surprised if the “design your own” craze is coming soon to a polling place near you. Stay tuned …

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