October 26, 2020
In this 2020 election season, there's one cultural moment that seems to bring us all together: The I Voted sticker. It's a point of pride to visit your local polling place, cast your ballot and slap on this sticker, whether it's every four years for the general election or every two years for midterm elections. Even the yearly local races for school board or county positions bring citizens out to share their voice, and in this case, publicize their pride for democratic participation. That why we chose the "I Voted Sticker" as one of the Top Ten Stickers of All Time going into this year's National Sticker Day Celebration.
However, this particular election features an increase of mail-in ballots, which means less folks getting that iconic sticker at the polls. Enter Rachel Winn and Vania Lin, who were inspired after reading Erin Geiger Smith's book, "Thank You For Voting." The pair set off on a mission to help increase voter turnout for the 2020 general election.
They decided to bring a little joy to the mail-in voting process by giving an upgrade to the classic "I Voted" sticker with five inclusive designs. Each order is sold in a set, with the intent of giving the second sticker to a friend, holding them accountable to vote. To further increase turnout, they donate $2 of every order to Vote.org. In one short month, they've donated over $2,000 to Vote.org, partnered with H&M, Crocs & Spanx on their voter initiatives and sold over 1,000 sets of stickers. Check them out on Instagram for all things voting (@ivotedtodaystickers) and purchase their stickers on Etsy.
"After reading "Thank You For Voting," we realized we needed to do something to help increase voter turnout for this election because 40% of eligible voters didn't vote in 2016," says Rachel. "We had an inkling there'd be an uptick in mail-in ballots due to COVID, so our thought was to design a sticker for people to wear to take their "I Voted" selfie after mailing-in or dropping off their ballot. We started with 4 designs and felt there was a sticker for everyone. After Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, we knew we had to honor her with a sticker and it's been our best-selling design to date."
The designs behind the stickers were thoughtful, to highlight reasons voters turn out to the polls and to celebrate inclusivity. They ultimately wanted to make sure that every voter could see themselves in a sticker. The sticker product itself is our kiss cut sticker, which features a backing that's larger than the sticker itself. Kiss cut stickers can come sheeted or on rolls, and you can decide what type of finishing you'd like for your sticker.
"Our goal for growth was making a product & providing content that was shareable," says Rachel. "Everything from the original idea for the brand to the design of the stickers to the Instagram content is designed to be posted and shared. We've had steady growth through word of mouth and daily user generated content."
They came up with this idea at the end of July/early August, so it was "almost like throwing ourselves out of the plane and constructing the parachute as we go," Rachel says. "We knew we were on a tight deadline if we wanted to get the word out in time so we're developing our strategy." They both have other full-time jobs, and they wanted to keep it as simple and effective as possible. So for them, that meant promoting on one platform (Instagram) and reaching out to key influencers to promote. They're deeply committed to using Instagram, and they post everything from their customer's selfies to informative voting content that keeps their fans in the loop.
What's next for the I Voted Today team? For now, getting out the vote is the primary mission, but after the election they have a few ideas in mind for how to keep the momentum going...so watch their space even after the votes are tallied.
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