NYC Elects New 'I Voted' Sticker

NEW YORK CITY, NY — Since the grueling cycle of 2016, the prospect of exercising one's democratic rights in free and fair elections may not be too enticing. But what if there's snazzy new stickers?

New Yorkers have spoken, and a winner in the NYC Finance Board's "I Voted" design competition has been chosen. The stickers will be rolled out to city polling places on Tuesday, September 12 for citywide primary elections for local offices such as City Council, Comptroller and Mayor.

"We are thrilled with New Yorkers' choice for the new 'I Voted' sticker and with the level of interest this contest has generated," Amy Loprest, executive director of the NYC Campaign Finance Board, said in a statement. "We're hopeful that the sticker will inspire more New Yorkers to learn about the candidates in the citywide elections this year, turn out at the polls on Election Day, and show their neighbors they care about the future of their city."

The winning design was submitted by Marie Dagata, 59, and Scott Heinz 56, of Bronxville, New York. That's right, they're not even "real" New Yorkers. Bronxville, a suburb in Westchester County about 15 miles north of Midtown Manhattan, is inaccessible via the NYC subway — which could explain the inaccurate subway motif on their winning design. If only there were a station that connected the 7, A/C/E, 1/2/3, 4/5/6 and B/D/F/M lines.

All griping aside, the new sticker does feature a clean design and evokes a major element in the lives of most New Yorkers.

"All the people of the boroughs meet together, pass each other, need each other in the subway and the voting booth," Dagata and Heinz said in a statement.

More than 10,000 ballots were cast in this year's "I Voted" design competition, according to the New York Campaign Finance Board. Votes were cast via phones, tablets and computers from April 28 through May 9 and tabulated using the instant running voting model — in which voters chose their top 3 favorites and designs that finish last during each round of counting get eliminated.

At the end of the day, Dagata and Heinz's design reigns over the more than 700 submissions received by the NYC Campaign Finance Board this year. Ten finalists were chosen from the more than 700 submissions based off "overall aesthetic quality, the strength and effectiveness of the design’s pro-voting message, and how well they represented New York City," according to the Campaign Finance Board.

"I want to congratulate the winners and urge all New Yorkers to go cast their votes this fall and wear this beautiful new sticker with pride," Frederick Schaffer, chairman of the NYC Campaign Finance Board, said in a statement. "I think I can safely say that this contest has already started to get New Yorkers excited and thinking about the very real elections they’ll be voting in this fall."

Photo courtesy of the NYC Campaign Finance Board