Bizarre ‘I Voted’ Sticker Credited By NY County Officials For Unusual Turnout
Image via Ulster County Board of Elections
By some sort of mojo, a spider-like creature has led Ulster County locals to polling stations by droves. Officials at the New York county have credited the strange beast for drawing higher-than-usual attendance at its early voting sessions.
The beast was dreamed up this year by 14-year-old Hudson Rowan for a competition to come up with the county’s next voting sticker. Instead of going with something patriotic, as his mother had encouraged him, Rowan did the unforeseeable and sketched a purple-faced creature with bloodshot eyes, rainbow hair and teeth, and six cyan legs.
The unusual design ended up winning by a landslide 93%. As per Daily Freeman, a key master at one of the stations who has been helping out at the elections for 19 years shared that she’d never seen so many people turn up “for a midterm,” while an elections inspector said the turnout for early voting over the weekend well exceeded his expectations. Both of them were certain the sticker helped amp up interest for early participation.
One voter even reportedly noted that the new ‘I Voted’ sticker has been “highly coveted” by the public.
performed my duty as an Ulster County resident — obtained one of these stickers pic.twitter.com/POiSzjVZRO
— Phillip Pantuso (@phillippantuso) November 4, 2022
Ulster county, please go vote so you can get this beautiful, completely unhinged sticker. pic.twitter.com/g1Ud5XkBYm
— Perks (@cperks2112) October 31, 2022
The creature is also a hit within the Ulster County Board of Elections, with Commissioner Ashley Dittus describing earlier this year that the submission was “a fan favorite” with everyone in the office.
When it came time for the poll, Dittus even dressed up as the character.
Visit our BOE Commish in her I Voted Halloween costume when you vote on Saturday 11/5 at our early voting polling places:
— Ulster County Government (@UlsterNY) November 3, 2022
* 12-1p in Kingston
* 3-4p in New Paltz. pic.twitter.com/Bo38IGeTRn
Ulster County’s Deputy Mayor Alexandria Wojcik took things even further by inking the design onto her skin.
"I voted, I voted forever."
— Alex(andria) Wojcik, Deputy Mayor (@AlexandriaPaltz) October 22, 2022
📸 @CarbieThe
🎨 @ojeazz
Original art obviously by none other than Ulster County’s own Hudson Rowan!
Thanks to @AshleyDittus for being a great BOE Commish! pic.twitter.com/hhODaCim6T
All this goes to show: Art has the power to incite action—even, and especially, if it crawls about in six appendages.
It voted pic.twitter.com/qLlBAdOBq9
— ashleydittus (@AshleyDittus) October 31, 2022
[via The A.V. Club and Daily Freeman, images via various sources]
