Utah’s “I voted” stickers for the upcoming primary and general elections will feature women’s suffrage history.
Earlier this year, Utahns celebrated the 150th anniversary of Utah women first getting the right to vote. On Feb. 14, 1870, Seraph Young cast her ballot in Salt Lake City, becoming not only the first woman to vote in the territory but also the first woman to vote under an equal suffrage law in the United States. And August marks the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, expanding voting rights for women across the country.
To celebrate these milestones, the Utah Office of Elections partnered with Better Days 2020, a nonprofit that promotes Utah’s suffrage history, to produce a special edition of “I voted” stickers that will be distributed in June and November with some mail-in ballots and at drive-thru voting locations.
“Precautions will be taken to ensure the safety of sticker delivery and distribution in light of the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to a news release.
Better Days 2020 received 75 design submissions from across the state, and votes were cast on social media. The four chosen designs were created by Rachel Elizabeth Hafen and Canace Pulfer, both from Salt Lake City; Caleb Haynes, of Provo; and Brooklyn Cardon, from Elk Ridge Middle School.
“These local artists have produced beautiful work that will remind Utahns throughout the state that we honor and revere those who made Utah’s legacy of women voters a reality,” Kirsten Rappleye, chief of staff of the Lieutenant Governor’s Office, said in a statement.
Neylan McBaine, CEO of Better Days 2020, said, “Our foremothers fought hard for the opportunity to participate civically, and these stickers remind us of the sacrifice they made so women could have a voice in the way we are governed.”