Ninth-grader Cosmo Bell has won a statewide contest to design an “I Voted” sticker for the upcoming election, but don’t expect to see them sticking to the clothes of the civically engaged this November.
Contests for students to design election stickers are popular nationwide. In some states, kids’ imaginations run wild, with some winning designs depicting patriotic werewolves or an unsightly spider-monster.
Colorado’s winning design takes on a far more traditional approach. Bell, a student at Compass Community Collaborative School in Fort Collins, was inspired by the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, as well as native plants seen across the arid parts of Colorado, including the state flower, the Colorado blue columbine.
“I saw a lot of other, ‘I voted’ stickers, and some of the themes I saw were things that had to do with the state they were representing, obviously,” Bell said. “So I sat myself down and I thought, ‘What screams Colorado to me?’”
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s office will send out the digital sticker to voters enrolled in the BallotTrax program, which allows Colorado voters to receive notifications about the status of their mail-in ballots. The stickers are unlikely to replace stickers included in mailed ballots and at in-person polls.
“Counties have their own processes for ordering stickers that exist outside of our purview,” Secretary of State spokesperson Jack Todd said. “The Department of State doesn’t directly manage voting centers across the state. If a county were to express interest in printing this sticker, we would surely work with them to make that happen.”
Basically, that means if you want to actually wear Bell’s scenic creation, you’ll need to print it out on sticker paper yourself. Or maybe grab a safety pin.
Bell said he didn’t initially realize the sticker would only be distributed digitally.
“I'm still really glad and grateful that I won the competition,” Bell said. “But I do know some of my family members were kind of disappointed that they wouldn't be getting a physical sticker. We are going to be printing out some of my design stickers for ourselves and family and friends.”
Some counties held their own contests for the 2024 election and will instead distribute stickers designed by those students. In Jefferson County, Ethan Brill of Evergreen won the youth contest with a design depicting the Colorado blue columbine on top of a background of red rocks. Adams County elections officials will use four designs from four students, including one depicting the infamous cryptid Bigfoot.
