--- title: “I Voted” Sticker Shortage Is Making Everyone Sad description: Sometimes civic pride is not enough. People want the sticker. canonical: https://time.com/5444840/voting-sticker-2018/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-11-06T14:48:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:55:49.051Z og:title: Polling Places Out of “I Voted” Stickers Sadden Voters og:description: Sometimes civic pride is not quite enough og:url: https://time.com/5444840/voting-sticker-2018/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01268409fa98d034/69893e5ab21a9ca3624ff65a/votingstickers2018.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4800 og:image:height: 2700 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-VOTE og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Polling Places Out of “I Voted” Stickers Sadden Voters twitter:description: Sometimes civic pride is not quite enough twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01268409fa98d034/69893e5ab21a9ca3624ff65a/votingstickers2018.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # People Who Can't Get Their Hands on 'I Voted' Stickers Are Utterly Disappointed > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=41a301c5-6cad-484d-a742-140d16a68d41&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Nov 6, 2018 2:48 PM UTC  California's multi-language "I Voted" stickers on offer for early voters at the Los Angeles County Registrar's Office in Norwalk, California on November 5, 2018, a day ahead the November 6 midterm elections in the United States. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images) California's multi-language "I Voted" stickers on offer for early voters at the Los Angeles County Registrar's Office in Norwalk, California on November 5, 2018, a day ahead the November 6 midterm elections in the United States. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images) FREDERIC J. BROWN—AFP/Getty Images by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Nov 6, 2018 2:48 PM UTC This year’s hottest accessory isn’t a [Balenciaga parka](http://time.com/5381603/balenciaga-coat-friends/) or a [Gucci baby dragon](http://time.com/5168555/gucci-baby-dragons-runway-trend/) or even [Savage x Fenty lingerie](http://time.com/5389428/rihanna-nyfw-2018/), it’s an “I Voted” sticker and it may be harder to get than any of the designer pieces. As people flock to the polls this [election day](http://time.com/5445124/2018-midterm-races-to-watch/) to exercise their civic responsibilities, not only do they get to experience the joy of participating in democracy, but the sticker lets them flout their civic pride on Instagram. That’s not the only benefit to the patriotic sticker, either: many businesses are offering deals to patrons wearing stickers proving they took part in the mid-term elections. Plus, according to a tweet he sent out, wearing an “I Voted” sticker will make Mark Ruffalo do a happy dance with muppets: > [](https://twitter.com/MarkRuffalo/status/1058444858602471424) So voting and then wearing the “I Voted” sticker all day is an important part of the electoral process, which explains why people are taking to social media to express their disappointment over their inability to get the stickers, either because their polling place ran out or because they voted via absentee ballot and didn’t get the swag: > [](https://twitter.com/cpd623/status/1059802864225304576) > [](https://twitter.com/kenbone18/status/1059802632859062278) > [](https://twitter.com/DanielleFayyy/status/1059542959538999297) > [](https://twitter.com/JCamm%5F/status/1059806166862233601) > [](https://twitter.com/EpeeBill/status/1059806727946805248) > [](https://twitter.com/oliFEROCIOUS/status/1059805746055921664) > [](https://twitter.com/RosaSparkzZz/status/1059807390890160128) > [](https://twitter.com/CaroRCummings/status/1059807587749781506) > [](https://twitter.com/KaylaGribble/status/1059807899080425472) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5444840/voting-sticker-2018/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5444840/voting-sticker-2018/"},"headline":"People Who Can't Get Their Hands on 'I Voted' Stickers Are Utterly Disappointed","datePublished":"2018-11-06T14:48:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:55:49.051Z","description":"Sometimes civic pride is not quite enough.","url":"https://time.com/5444840/voting-sticker-2018/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Voting"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01268409fa98d034/69893e5ab21a9ca3624ff65a/votingstickers2018.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt01268409fa98d034/69893e5ab21a9ca3624ff65a/votingstickers2018.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-POLITICS-VOTE","caption":"US-POLITICS-VOTE","creditText":"FREDERIC J. 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