--- title: Election Day History—The Story Behind Your 'I Voted' Sticker description: The common Election Day sight has mysterious origins, but the reason it matters is clear. Experts say it speaks to an old American dynamic. canonical: https://time.com/4541760/i-voted-sticker-history-origins/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-07T21:00:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T17:12:40.000Z article:section: History og:title: Election Day History—The Story Behind Your 'I Voted' Sticker og:description: The common Election Day sight has mysterious origins, but the reason it matters is clear og:url: https://time.com/4541760/i-voted-sticker-history-origins/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt934321f1612daf72/6988abbfcd1bbaf455702da5/gettyimages-523002181.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4896 og:image:height: 2754 og:image:alt: I Voted og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Election Day History—The Story Behind Your 'I Voted' Sticker twitter:description: The common Election Day sight has mysterious origins, but the reason it matters is clear twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt934321f1612daf72/6988abbfcd1bbaf455702da5/gettyimages-523002181.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Is the Story Behind Your 'I Voted' Sticker > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: 2018 Midterm Elections Could Shift Power [Watch (HLS stream): 2018 Midterm Elections Could Shift Power](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/FTuOXmCB.m3u8) (3:59)  _Published 2018-10-24. With the possibility of a flip of the House and candidates set to make history, voter enthusiasm builds leading up to the midterm elections._  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Updated: Dec 13, 2023 5:12 PM UTCPublished: Nov 7, 2016 9:00 PM UTC  'I Voted' sticker on the black background. 'I Voted' sticker on the black background. Getty Images  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Updated: Dec 13, 2023 5:12 PM UTCPublished: Nov 7, 2016 9:00 PM UTC As Americans go to the polls this Tuesday, they’ll likely also see which of their friends are doing the same, as their Facebook and Twitter feeds are overrun by “I Voted” sticker selfies. The patriotic decals can also snag citizens free [food and drinks,](http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2016/10/20/poll-info-early-voting-happy-hour-heres-how-austin.html) a[ ride home](http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/election/article110753642.html) and many other incentives that businesses offer to wearers. The badge of pride has been a fixture at many polling places since…well, it’s not totally clear. Exactly who invented the sticker is a bit mysterious. It seems likely that the decals are a product of the early 1980s. An Oct. 29, 1982, Miami _Herald_ article may contain the earliest mention of such a sticker, in a discussion of how small businesses in Fort Lauderdale were offering discounts to customers wearing “I Voted” stickers. The [Phoenix Realtors Association](https://paronline.com/political-advocacy/local/voting-stickers/) says it started distributing such stickers in Phoenix and Maricopa County a few years later, in 1985, and [National Campaign Supply](http://www.electionstickers.com/index.php?option=com%5Fcontent&task=view&id=12&Itemid=) claims it started selling them in 1986. Janet Boudreau, who used to run the[ election-supply company](http://www.intab.net/) Intab, designed a version with an American flag blowing in the wind in 1987\. She was shocked by how many people didn’t realize it was Election Day, and wanted to do something to help. “I wanted them to see people with an ‘I Voted’ sticker and think, ‘Oh, I should do that,'” she says. For Boudreau, now 57, the sticker was a product of coming of age during the ’60s and ’70s, during which time she realized just how much voting mattered. “In terms of civil rights and people protesting against the Vietnam War, we could see populism having a huge effect. Who you’d get in office to pass or kill legislation could mean life or death for some people.” But does the sticker actually help? Political scientists say it’s not that the sticker itself gets people out to vote, but that the sticker represents an attempt to bring back a sense of community that was once associated with voting—and that feeling does matter. As explained by Richard Bensel, professor of government at Cornell University and author of _The American Ballot Box in the Mid-Nineteenth Century_, the system of voting in the 19th century was very public, as eligible men would go to the polling place to collect ballots from party agents, and then voters hand the ticket of their choice to an election judge, who would deposit it himself into a voting box. Because some of the tickets were color coded, anyone present might get a chance to see who voted, and for whom. “An ‘I Voted’ sticker wouldn’t have meant as much,” Bensel says. “You were voting in public, so everyone who was relevant, who would care, would see you vote.” And Election Day was a real occasion: Men might show they were old enough to vote by [growing out their facial hair](http://ti.me/2eEowUu) and getting all dressed up, according to Jon Grinspan, a curator of political history at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Liquor would flow freely at the polling place, lending the balloting a raucous—sometimes violent—celebratory air. As Philip A. Klinkner, professor of Government at Hamilton College, puts it, “it was the state fair and the Fourth of July and the Christmas Day all wrapped up into one.” [_Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter_](http://time.com/newsletter) Since the introduction of the [secret ballot](http://time.com/4305508/paper-ballot-history/) in the late 19th century, voting has become a solitary, almost somber act. That’s one reason why voter turnout rates sank in the 20th century, says Donald P. Green, professor of political science at Columbia University. “\[Voter turnout\] rebounded after World War II, sagged during the 1970s, and it has rebounded in the last four elections in part because both parties have gotten better at mobilizing voters,” he says, adding that “the 2000 election dramatized the importance of every vote.” (Green guesses the drama of 2000 may be why the “I Voted” sticker seems more visible today than it was in the past.) And, as shown by [a study Green co-authored,](http://isps.yale.edu/research/publications/isps07-001) reviving the 19th-century attitude that Election Day is a community holiday can make a difference when it comes to turnout. The study examined 14 different cities and towns in which “Election Day festivals” were held—featuring everything from Taiko drummers to clowns—and found that, as he puts it, “if you can get people to the parties, you can get them to vote.” (That experiment is being conducted again for the 2016 election in over two dozen cities). Over the years, some counties have [stopped ordering](http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/politics/I-Voted-Now-Give-Me-My-Sticker-106603794.html) “I Voted” stickers due to budget constraints—the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters said [it saved over $90,000](http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Wheres-My-Sticker-177546041.html) by not offering them in 2012—and others are moving [away from stickers](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-election-voting-wristbands-met-20161007-story.html) to prevent citizens from plastering the public places with them. But, even if the stickers themselves fall out of favor, their lesson will stick around: seeing that other people are participating can be the nudge a citizen needs to get into the voting booth. In fact, research has even shown that people may be more likely to act if they know someone else might notice. Economists at the University of California-Berkeley, the University of Chicago, and Harvard University [recently found](http://eml.berkeley.edu/~sdellavi/wp/turnout16-05-23.pdf) that “telling people they’re going to be asked about voting will make them more likely to vote,” says Stefano DellaVigna, a professor of economics and business administration at Berkeley. Similarly, [research](http://isps.yale.edu/research/publications/isps11-017) by Costas Panagopoulos, a professor of political science at Fordham University, found that when voters are thanked for voting in a past election, they’re more likely to vote in a future election. Panagopoulos proposes an even more effective get-out-the-vote method than the “I Voted” sticker: “People who get the sticker have already voted, so they’re motivated enough for it to have worked in the first place,” he says. “If we could find the people who didn’t vote and give them a sticker saying ‘I Didn’t Vote,’ that could cause a greater increase in turnout.” ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] US midterms don't typically get a lot of attention but this year it's different. The 2018 Congressional election has solidified its status as a coast- to- coast battle for the House with both President Trump and former President Barrack Obama hitting the campaign trail to back candidates The elections are slated to not only determine the balance of power in Congress, but they also have the potential to shape the strategies and identities of the two parties heading into the 2020 presidential race. Right now, Republicans have the majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Re- election is such a big deal because it represents Enormous stakes for both parties. If the republicans keep the house, they will see it as a reinforcement of Trump's mandate. And for the democrats, it's an opportunity to put a check on president Trump, and try to use congressional power to get at some of these scandals that have already been plaguing his presidency. House members serve a two year term, so every seat is up for grabs. Right now Republicans have 236 out of 435 seats. Democrats have 193 and six are vacant. And there are a record number of house members not seeking re- election in 2018, with more than 40 Republicans not running again, including House Speaker Paul Ryan So what happens if dems manage to take the house. Its very unlikely that they will be able to pass, meaningful registration to advance their agenda. So its highly unlikely that we're gonna see anything like medicare for all. What is very likely, is that democrats will use the powers of congressional subpoena, and congressional investigation. To investigate this president who has been accused of so many ethical lapses. But flipping the House is rare. In fact, in the past 25 years, it's only happened three times. Yet, each time voters favor the party not in the White House. This combined with voter energy, has democrats optimistic. Voters are really interested in this year's midterms, partly because of what happened in the 2016 election. Voter turnout in the primaries among Democrats doubled from 2014 levels, and you're also seeing a tremendous amount of activism over the last two years that has all been building up to this year's midterms. And after a divisive 2016 Democratic primary, the party is experiencing a revival of sorts. There is a tremendous amount of enthusiasm around registering and mobilizing voters of color, and white suburban moms living in these Districts that have kinda [ UNKNOWN ] conservative in the past, but now are open for pick up for the Democrats. There are a lot of college educated women who woke up after the 2016 election and said, this is not the country that I thought I was going to rest my kids in. And have basically spend the last two years knocking on doors for Democrats. Meanwhile Trump's outsider politics continues to reign supreme for Republicans. So Republicans have really been leaning into Trumpism. The energy is around people who are really embracing Trump's agenda. And it's not just Congress that could change, there are 36 governorships up for grads and more 6, 000 members of state legislatures will be elected. A record number of women are running for office and this year's candidates could make history. Arizona and Tennessee could send women to the US Senate for the first time. US House of Representatives could get its first Somali- American and Native American women. But ultimately it will be voter turnout that will determine this election. There's a tremendous amount of energy and enthusiasm around getting voters who dont typically show up to the midterms to actually show up and vote this year. 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