The Secretary of State’s office is calling on Mississippi voters to design the state’s new “I Voted” sticker for the 2026 midterm elections.
Secretary of State Michael Watson announced in an Aug. 4 press release a new contest, which would give voters 18 years and older the chance to submit designs for the 2026 mid-term elections which will be used in all 82 counties across the state.
“We are always looking for new ways to engage Mississippians of all ages in the voting process,” Elizabeth Jonson, communications director for the Secretary of State’s office wrote in an email to The Dispatch. “… We have received the request numerous times for an updated sticker to distribute to voters on election day and believed this to be a great opportunity to let our voting age population highlight the best of Mississippi.”
The contest is being offered through the secretary of state’s Promote the Vote program, which focuses on comprehensive K-12 voter education. The contest is the first of its kind offered by the program.
“The main reason for placing the “I Voted” sticker contest under the Promote the Vote umbrella is to not only drive engagement within the elections process but to also drive voter turnout,” Jonson said. “Mississippi needs an engaged electorate which includes more than just showing up on election day.”
The contest is open only to registered voters, and entries must include the words “I voted,” the year 2026 and a title. The rest of the design is left up to the designer for what they feel best represents the spirit of Mississippi, according to the contest’s guidelines.
The design must also fit within a two-inch circular sticker and cannot be derogatory or negative in any way.
Lowndes County Circuit Clerk Teresa Barksdale said the contest is a great way to get younger voters interested in the election process even though there isn’t an election this year.
“We always want everybody to vote … but you’ve just got to stress the importance of it to them, so that they will see the importance of everybody voting, so they will come out and vote,” she said.
Watson’s office has received 20 submissions since the contest started and will continue accepting submissions through Oct. 31.
All submissions will be reviewed by a panel of judges, which will include representatives with the Mississippi Economic Council, the Mississippi Arts Commission and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the secretary of state’s press release said.
Jonson said the office hopes to announce the winner sometime in December or early January.
Anyone looking to submit a design for the contest can submit it through the form on the contest’s rules page on the secretary of state’s website.
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