Sticker me!

November 4, 2008 7:06 AM

I voted today but my precinct didn't hand out "I voted!" stickers, and it made me sad, especially when I saw people elsewhere sporting them. Why wouldn't my precinct have "I voted!" stickers? Where else can I get one?
posted by zizzle to grab bag (33 comments total)

Make your own!
posted by Burhanistan at 7:17 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Print one off.
posted by nitsuj at 7:19 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I didn't get one, either. Brooklyn! Apparently a lot of places don't have them. What gives?
posted by GilloD at 7:23 AM on November 4, 2008

I'd go with the I VOTED crown.
posted by ewkpates at 7:27 AM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites has favorites]

Well, my theory is that they're wasteful, and in an attempt at being green, they're being skipped.

(I try to avoid them when I donate blood as well. They *were* handing them out at my precinct, but I didn't take one. Just my $0.02....)
posted by iguanapolitico at 7:29 AM on November 4, 2008

Dip your finger in purple ink?
posted by StickyCarpet at 7:31 AM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites has favorites]

They were already out by the time I voted at 8 am in chicago.

I still got a receipt though.
posted by Oktober at 7:45 AM on November 4, 2008

You need the sticker to get free stuff at Starbucks and Ben and Jerry's.
posted by electroboy at 8:00 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

No stickers available in the Bronx. All my CT coworkers have them. I'll print this out.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 8:00 AM on November 4, 2008

electroboy said "You need the sticker to get free stuff at Starbucks and Ben and Jerry's."
I believe Starbucks will also accept your word that you voted on the honor system. Dunno about B&J though. FWIW, I just got my sticker and it now adorns the door of my office. Damn, it makes me feel good!
posted by 543DoublePlay at 8:06 AM on November 4, 2008

I didn't get a sticker either (Brooklyn) but my coworker who also didn't get one was able to get coffee at Starbucks by just saying she voted. I guess she looks honest.
posted by rmless at 8:06 AM on November 4, 2008

You should also be able to use your ballot stub thingy to get free ice cream and coffee, I believe.
posted by OolooKitty at 8:08 AM on November 4, 2008

Why wouldn't my precinct have "I voted!" stickers?

Because a) they're not required, and b) someone has to pay for them.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:18 AM on November 4, 2008

~~~~I~~~~~
~~~~V~~~~~
~~~~O~~~~~
~~~~T~~~~~
~~~~E~~~~~
~~~~D~~~~~



Print :)
posted by watercarrier at 8:20 AM on November 4, 2008

We don't get ballot stubs in MA, so I have nothing but the joy of having voted to indicate that I did so to complete strangers!

Some great suggestions here, though!
posted by zizzle at 8:29 AM on November 4, 2008

You need the sticker to get free stuff at Starbucks and Ben and Jerry's.

I love how excited people get by those stickers. It's like kindergarden all over again.

As above said, print your own. It's not like you'll be accused of sticker fraud.
posted by rokusan at 8:33 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

No sticker, no stub over here. On my way to see if Starbucks will still give me my coffee.

Even without the sticker I was so happy to vote today. This campaign has gone on forever and I honestly just can't take the stress of thinking about it anymore. Just a few more finger crossing hours and it will all be over.
posted by a22lamia at 8:34 AM on November 4, 2008

On my way to see if Starbucks will still give me my coffee.

They will. They have to. Giving free stuff to voters only is actually a violation of federal law.
posted by kickingtheground at 8:38 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

this is the first year i've ever gotten a sticker, and i'm so happy i did. whee!
posted by misanthropicsarah at 8:50 AM on November 4, 2008

Put me down as another Brooklynite who didn't get a sticker. How are we supposed to prove we voted when we go to Babeland for our free sex toys?

At least I got to vote at the Brooklyn Museum of Art!
posted by billtron at 8:54 AM on November 4, 2008

kickingtheground: as Starbucks has humorlessly noted on twitter.
posted by stvspl at 8:59 AM on November 4, 2008

When I was working supervising about a dozen polling places in San Francisco, this was by *far* the number one complaint. Sometimes people would get sincerely yell-y about it.

The stickers aren't actually part of the process, they're just kind of a neat bonus, so they're not the top budget line item. The polling places have however many they have, and sometimes they run out. Your vote still counts.
posted by YoungAmerican at 9:00 AM on November 4, 2008

I voted in Soho at 7:30 this morning and they were already out. I'm irrationally sad not to have gotten one, but really happy about the voter turnout implied by the fact that they were all gone. By the time I actually got into the building, at 7am, the volunteers already looked shellshocked and in need of a stiff gin and tonic. This is awesome.
posted by Dormant Gorilla at 9:15 AM on November 4, 2008

Funnily enough I just read an essay in the Washington Post on this very thing
The Prized Token of Sticking Together on Election Day (you may need to login to read it)

It begins: "Since we're probably standing in a rather long line right now, let us take a moment to praise something as simple as wearing one's little "I Voted" sticker all day long, and wearing it today-- even if, to some people, the sticker says sucker."
posted by 543DoublePlay at 10:01 AM on November 4, 2008

Zizzle, where in Mass are you? I voted in a Boston precinct and got no sticker, but everyone I saw on my way to work in Cambridge had one. I feel very left out. And I'd think if it was just a matter of "going green", Cambridge would have been among the first to drop the sticker-ness.

PS: Starbucks definitely gives you free coffee (and tea! I got tea instead) without a sticker.
posted by olinerd at 11:23 AM on November 4, 2008

The self congratulatory nature of those stickers always bothers me a little bit. It seems like wearing a sticker that says "I brushed my teeth this morning." I had a bit of a run-in with an overzealous volunteer who insisted that I take one despite my polite refusal. In retrospect, I guess I should have taken it and saved it in case someone who wanted one couldn't get it.

Instead of "I voted" stickers, I wish there were involuntary "I didn't vote" face tattoos that don't go away until the next election.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 11:46 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I just used this link idea to google "I voted absentee sticker" and print one out.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:48 AM on November 4, 2008

You don't need the sticker to get a free Starbucks.
posted by spec80 at 12:54 PM on November 4, 2008

You don't need the sticker to get ANY of the freebies. You don't have to have voted, even. (It's illegal to restrict freebies to voters only.)
posted by iguanapolitico at 2:39 PM on November 4, 2008

via boing boing

Had a similar thought myself.
posted by kindall at 3:39 PM on November 4, 2008

Olinerd, I too vote in Boston!

Prior to voting in Boston, I voted in Somerville and received stickers. Prior to Somerville I voted in Maine and received stickers!

My friends in Cambridge and Somerville received stickers!

Why does Boston not have stickers?

(Also, much as the freebies are nice and all, that's not why I wanted the sticker. I just wanted a sticker.)
posted by zizzle at 3:58 PM on November 4, 2008

Manhattan wasn't handing out stickers either and I complained to a friend about it. Glad I'm not alone...I want my sticker, dammit!!
posted by agentwills at 5:01 PM on November 4, 2008

I know! I wanted a sticker, too! Or a ballot stub! I didn't even know they gave those out! Or a lollipop, at least.

(Incidentally, I wish someone would give me an 'I brushed my teeth this morning' sticker, too.)
posted by Mael Oui at 9:39 PM on November 4, 2008