Arapahoe County is once again inviting residents to show their civic pride through creativity with its biennial “I Voted” sticker design contest.
What began in 2021 as a fun, community-driven initiative has grown into a celebrated tradition showcasing local talent and encouraging voter engagement.
“Every other year, we hold a contest to design ‘I Voted’ stickers,” said Tom Skelley, senior communications business partner for the county. “In 2021 and 2023, we also had a category for elementary students to create ‘Future Voter’ stickers that we hand out at vote centers and community events.”
This year, the deadline to submit designs is July 31. Additionally, this year the county is expanding the contest to include participants of all ages, Skelley said.
Along with familiar youth categories, two new divisions have been added — one for hand-drawn artwork and another for digitally-designed entries.
“We still wanted children to have their own contest, so we have the ‘First Time Voter’ contest for kids ages 5 to 18,” Skelley said.
Since the initiative’s launch, it has received enthusiastic support from across the county, Skelley said.
“The response to the contests has been overwhelmingly positive,” Skelley said. “The community has always shown pride and support for the winners, and for their inspired images that show their pride in the voting process.”
Just like a real election, the contest’s winners are chosen through a democratic vote — by the Elections Division staff.
“We use a secret ballot just like a real election, so employees who vote don’t see the names attached to entries, and nobody knows which employees voted for which designs,” Skelley said.
Submissions must include key elements: the words “I Voted” or “First Time Voter,” depending on the category; as well as “Arapahoe County.” Beyond that, artists are encouraged to let their creativity shine.
“We encourage the artists to tap into their imaginations and create something that speaks to them about voting, Colorado, our beautiful county and our democracy,” Skelley said.
In past years, popular themes have included local wildlife, scenic mountain views, nature, the Denver skyline and patriotic symbols like stars and the American flag.
“The ones that really stand out every time are the ones that show a unique perspective about what it means to live and vote here in Arapahoe County,” Skelley said.
Until this year, all contest winners have been students in elementary, middle or high school.
“They are understandably proud to see images they worked so hard on receiving recognition from their communities,” Skelley said.
As the county opens this year’s contest to adults and digital artists, anticipation for what the community will come up with is high.
“We’re all eager to see original perspectives from artists of all ages, and we’re excited to see the diversity of images between the hand-drawn and digital art categories,” Skelley said. “It’s always a big deal when a voter casts their first-ever ballot at a vote center, so we’re thrilled that now we’ll have unique stickers to hand out to first-time voters to commemorate their special experience.”
For complete contest details, rules and entry forms, visit www.arapahoeco.gov/news_detail_votes_T90_R1100.php.