The stories behind KC's "I Voted" stickers
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Photo: Courtesy of Ballotpedia
Sunflowers, state flags and a whole lot of red, white and blue fill Axios' new map of 2026 "I Voted" stickers from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., including Kansas and Missouri.
The big picture: The nationwide collection, assembled with help from Ballotpedia, features everything from patriotic classics to student artwork and designs celebrating America's 250th birthday.
Flashback: The origins of the "I Voted" sticker are a little fuzzy, but the tradition took off in the 1980s.
- In 1987, Janet Boudreau, who owned an election-supply business, created the now-familiar oval sticker with a waving American flag.
- By 2000, her company was selling more than 100 million stickers during major election years.
Zoom in: There's no single sticker for Kansas or Missouri. Local election offices choose their designs, meaning voters across the metro can leave the polls wearing different artwork.
- Kansas' sunflower-themed entry comes from Johnson County, which ran an "I Voted" sticker contest this year.
- Winners were recognized in June, and artwork has been distributed throughout advance and in-person voting.
Across the state line, Missouri's featured sticker comes from Boone County, home to Columbia, where high school students design the county's sticker.
- The design on the map, an outline of Missouri with "I Voted" in calligraphy, was drawn in 2019 by Battle High School student Audrey Cornell.
Back in the metro, Clay County's stickers feature artwork by six fifth-graders from Clardy Elementary in Gladstone, part of North Kansas City Schools.
- The students' winning designs debuted in April and will remain available through November 2027.
💭 Abbey's thought bubble: Why do Kansas City's stickers remain the standard oval? Boooooo. Boring.
The bottom line: Not all stickers are created equal, but they remain an Election Day tradition.