Cape Girardeau County residents will once again have the opportunity to design and detail their own edition of the famous “I Voted” sticker election-participants are given after they have done their civic duty at the polls.
Election supervisor Allen Seabaugh says the contest, in its second year, was successful in giving a bit of uniqueness to the area.
“It got a really good response among voters,” says Seabaugh, and voters responded enthusiastically that they had something other than generic stickers.
While participants are welcome to get creative with their designs, the county clerk's office does
have some guidelines to follow, as listed on their website. Among those basic guidelines is to have the phrase “I Voted” on the sticker, but not to include any partisan or issue-related themes.
“If they want to include any type of images or things unique to our county... that’s fine,” he says.
Seabaugh believes people are motivated to express themselves and get involved in different ways.
“People just want to be involved in the process, and it allows them to bring an artistic side to the election and voting process,” Seabaugh says.
The deadline for submissions is Oct. 30. Participants under the age of 18 must have a parental consent form. After that, the designs will be judged by County Clerk Kara Clark Summers, Southeast Political Science Professor Jeremy Walling, and Sara Steffens with the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri. Finalists will be put up to a public vote among county residents, and the winning design will be featured on stickers during the 2020-2021 election years.
Submissions can be sent to Seabaugh’s email at amseabaugh@capecounty.us.