An “I Voted” sticker design submission — drawn by a 14-year-old — for a New York county voter sticker design contest went viral and has neared 160,000 votes for its design that the creator says “resembles the craziness of politics and the world right now.”
Marbletown, N.Y., teenager Hudson Rowan submitted the entry for the Ulster County Board of Elections’ second annual I Voted Sticker Contest. People have till July 29 cast their votes for the design contest, and the winning I Voted sticker will be distributed to voters who participate in November for the NY county’s midterm elections.
Voting is also not limited to county residents. Anyone can cast a ballot for Ulster County’s I Voted sticker contest — all you have to do is visit the county’s website.
I Voted design sticker for Ulster County Board of Elections 2nd annual design contest. Rowan’s design has garnered an overwhelming majority of the votes.
Just 12 days into the month, Rowan’s drawing — a six-legged, spider-like creature with a humanoid head and a dark-purple and blue gradient — eclipsed the competition with an overwhelming 160,000 votes, 93% of the total votes cast in the competition.
Rowan told the New York Times that he doesn’t really know how to describe the creature he designed; he’s leaving the interpretation of his six-legged creation to the eyes of the beholder.
“Politics right now in the world is all kinds of crazy,” Rowan said to the New York Times, “and I feel like the creature that I drew kind of resembles the craziness of politics and the world right now.”
The internet quickly flocked towards the strange I Voted sticker.
Sammy Maine, an upstate New York resident, urged her followers to spam the vote button on Rowan’s design submission.
A Reddit user said they couldn’t imagine a better metaphor for the current state of U.S. politics.
Ulster County Legislator, Abe Uchitelle, said Rowan’s sticker is just what our democracy needs in this time of crisis.
Votes will continue to be cast up until July 29. Anyone interested in voting for Ulster County’s next I Voted sticker to be used for the November midterms elections, can do so here.
