In an effort to instill civic engagement even for those too young to vote (namely students), Ulster County in New York is holding its 2nd Annual Ulster Votes I Voted Sticker Contest. Earlier this month, Commissioners Ashley Dittus and John Quigley revealed the finalists people can vote on until the end of the month. The winning design will be printed and distributed to those who vote in the November 8 general election. This fun community project has gone viral because of a submission by young artist Hudson Rowan.
No, you were not mistaken if you watched the video above: Rowen’s design is leading the contest by far. Within about a week, it began going viral on social media, and the rainbow-teethed creature is sitting at about 158,000 votes and accounts for 93% of the total votes—a true sticker of the people. At this rate, the total votes will probably surpass the total number of residents of the county (181,851).
Not seeing themselves as particularly political, Hudson told the Times Herald-Record “I decided to do something different.” They were surprised it stood out enough to be considered a finalist. Hudson probably submitted a great artist statement, because this design is fun and thus easy to demonize. (After all, it looks like it came from the depths of hell.) I love that they included it because it shows a different way of approaching elections that is also a little bit more realistic.
How Hudson’s community is taking this attention
Many people online have been joking that the increased attention will get the contest pulled or nullified if Hudson wins. However, I’m not so sure about that. Both commissioners have backed the decision to include the design in the first place. Dittus (D) stated, “We are really having a good time watching all those people from Ulster County, and all over the place, engage with our website, engage with our contest.” Quigley (R) echoed this sentiment by saying:
Somebody tweeted, this is how voters feel about politics right now, and I thought it was almost like the best way to summarize it. It sort of is exactly how we all feel about politics right now.
They might end up changing the rules next year or something, but this year (so far) seems pretty safe and Hudson’s got in the bag.
Before you go and vote on this or any other great Ulster county design, make sure you’re registered to vote in upcoming primaries, runoffs, and the general election by checking your status here. Even if you think you’re registered, check again because 1) a lot of us moved since the last time we voted, and 2) we know how some election officials like to expel people from the voter rolls for any little reason.
(via Twitter and Mashable, featured image: Cartoon Network)
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