An illustration displays the four winning “I Voted” sticker designs from South Dakota students. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
Instead of a standard, mass-printed “I voted” sticker as a reward for participating in the Nov. 5 general election, roughly 8,000 voters can sport hand-drawn stickers designed by South Dakota children.
The South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office launched a sticker contest this year to encourage more students and schools to participate in election education. The custom stickers will be available to voters in Stanley, Custer, Lawrence and Meade counties, where the children who designed the winning stickers reside.
Between the June primary election, post-election audits, validating ballot measure signatures and preparing for the general election, Secretary of State Monae Johnson said the design contest was a way to lighten the season for her office.
“There was so much going on, we decided we need to squeak this one fun thing out,” Johnson said.
The design contest is part of a national campaign to educate children and their families about elections. Some contests, such as Michigan’s, are garnering nationwide attention for winning designs.
Johnson hopes South Dakota’s contest will continue and grow with the 2026 elections, after her office received 200 design submissions this year. State officeholders judged the submissions, which were open to elementary, middle and high schoolers.
Johnson is also continuing the Gladys Pyle Award, which Johnson launched last year to encourage South Dakota high school students to register to vote. Each school that registers at least 90% of their age-eligible students receives the award.
Pyle was the first female secretary of state in South Dakota, first female elected to the South Dakota Legislature and one of the first women elected to the U.S. Senate nationwide. She gave her life to education and politics, Johnson said, adding that she was an “incredible” and “amazing” inspiration.
The award was presented to Stanley County and T.F Riggs high schools this year, which each reported 18 new registrations. Johnson also recognized universities that held a voter registration drive for students, including Dakota Wesleyan and South Dakota State, which had 28 and 74 new registrations or updates, respectively.
