I voted sticker contest

Press Release:

The Genesee County Board of Elections is thrilled to announce the Second Annual "I Voted" sticker contest winners. The contest, coordinated by the Board of Elections, showcased the creative talent of local students and their involvement in the electoral process. 

The contest received many submissions, with over 300 outstanding entries from Genesee County schools.

'It was a tough decision to select our seven finalists,' said Lorie Longhany, Democratic Election Commissioner. 'We can't wait to see the students' graphic designs in print and used in our outreach efforts!'

The winning designs will be featured on the “I Voted” stickers distributed to voters as they cast their ballots in November. They will also be utilized for voter outreach and promoted across social media platforms.

The winners of the contest are as follows: 

• Grand Prize: Tyler Caldwell, Alexander 
• 1st Place: Riley Sharpe, Byron-Bergen
• 2nd Place (Collaborative Design): Alexander Kuszlyk, Evan Bannister, and Zachary Gay, Byron-Bergen
• 3rd Place: Ben Landers, Notre Dame
• Honorable Mentions: Ava Smith, Byron-Bergen; Morgan Kidder, Alexander; Alarai Tomidy, Notre Dame

The Genesee County Board of Elections extends its heartfelt congratulations to all the winners and extends special thanks to every participant for their exceptional contributions.

Submitted photos

When Genesee County Board of Elections organizers announced the I Voted sticker contest earlier this year, they hoped for not only more awareness about the election process but also some cool artwork submissions from area students.

The results did not disappoint. This inaugural event reaped several sticker scenarios, with the Grand Prize going to Elijah Webster of Pavilion Central School for a Portrait of Women's Suffrage Leaders Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

First Place went to Olivia Gillard of Batavia Middle School  for her rendition of Eagle over Bars.

Both the grand and first prize artworks will be visible on I Voted stickers to be handed out to voters during this year's upcoming elections, and the other winning designs will be used for voter outreach and on social media campaigns.

"It is wonderful to involve our Genesee County students in our electoral process,” Democratic Election Commissioner Lorie Longhany said in a press release Friday. “It will be exciting to see the student’s graphic designs in print
and used in our outreach and distributed to voters during early voting and on election day. As an artist and part-time art instructor, I was so pleased with all the designs."

Remaining student recipients are:

• Second Place: Logan Almekinder of Pavilion Central School - City Skyline
• Third Place: Kelly Parsons, Byron-Bergen Central School - I Voted Teddy Bear
• Honorable Mention: Summer Snyder, Alexander Central School - I Voted Snail on Stars and Bars
• Honorable Mention: Piper Hargrave, Alexander Central School - I Voted Epic on Stars and Bars
• Honorable Mention: Maddy McKenzie, Pavilion Central School - I Voted Abstract

The I Voted committee congratulates the winners who were chosen and for all artists who submitted "so many incredible designs."

In an effort to rally young people’s interest in the election process and voting and build a future base of voters, Genesee County Board of Elections is sprinkling a little fun into what can otherwise be a dry topic.

The “I Voted” sticker contest is being promoted to students in grades five through 12 in art or in government classes throughout county school districts and home schools. They are being encouraged to create original artwork used with the words “I Voted” to celebrate that American privilege, and a grand winner, plus prizes for first, second and third will be awarded to the top selected entries.

Democratic Election Commissioner Lorie Longhany became a lead organizer of the project after a staff member brought the idea forward in December, she said. Other counties have begun similar contests, and Longhany looks forward to the end results locally after the April 21 deadline.

“We are beginning to set up demonstrations in the schools so that young people will feel comfortable with the process. We also hope to bring in some young people as poll workers. We had several train and help us during and after the pandemic,” Longhany said. “Our bi-partisan staff will be the judges for the contest. We plan on having a staff meeting after all designs have been submitted and spreading all the submissions out on our conference room table.

“As a former art teacher, this is very exciting for me. I had my students participate in the STOP DWI campaign and was a huge fan of the 4th grade Landmark Society contest, as well as the GCASA poster contests,” she said.

The grand prize winner’s design will be made into stickers for voters during the Primary and General elections, including Early Voting, Longhany said. First, second and third place entries will be used in social media content and for other voting-related outreaches, she said.

“We will also send out a press release after the submissions are judged,” she said. "We usually order several thousand stickers each year. Voters look forward to receiving their stickers after they sign in to vote. We want this to be a yearly project and are hoping it will grow in popularity.”

For a list of the rules and more information, go to I VOTED.