‘I Voted’ sticker creator talks about how it started

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - The “I Voted” sticker given to people who cast ballots began with one woman, Janet Boudreau, who designed it after seeing a local county hand out a different sticker on Election Day.

Boudreau said she has long supported voting, which she described as the right and duty of American citizens to share their voice.

“This is the one day that we have to amplify what we want our world to look like, and it just irritated me and my folks, too, when people would say, oh I forgot the election,” Boudreau said.

In 1987, Boudreau owned an election supply and voting equipment company. She noticed a county in Washington state had started handing out stickers on Election Day.

“It was black and white and had an X in a square. And that’s it. And I thought, this is not inspiring,” Boudreau said.

She said she then created her own design.

“I went home and got out a blue and red pen and decided on an ellipse with a waving flag,” Boudreau said.

The sticker started in a few counties and quickly spread across the country.

“By 1992, wow, it was nuts!” Boudreau said.

Election Day memorabilia has a long history that includes pins, buttons and ribbons - including those used during the women’s suffrage movement in the 1920s.

After taking off in the 1990s, the “I Voted” sticker has led to other versions, including state-specific images and future voter patches. Contests have also invited children to design their own stickers.

Boudreau said the goal behind the sticker is to inspire Americans to vote.

“What gets me the most about this is that it’s become this badge of honor,” Boudreau said.

She hopes the sticker continues to carry meaning as a promise and a call to action every election cycle.

“So get out and vote and then spread the word,” Boudreau said.