Denver “I Voted” Stickers Were Designed by Incarcerated Artists

Posting an artsy photo of an “I Voted” sticker is as much a part of Election Day as actually voting for a certain demographic.

Though plenty of Denver and Colorado voters got fairly basic stickers, particularly those who elected to mail in their ballots, some sticker designs this year were original and fun. That’s thanks to the incarcerated artists who designed two of the stickers given to Denver voters, according to the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, which shared an image of the designs on X.

“If you’re a Denverite sporting your ‘I Voted’ sticker today, you have an incarcerated artist to thank,” the advocacy group wrote. “CCJRC helped the Denver Election Division run a competition in the jails to design Denver’s sticker for this election!”

According to Jasmine Ross, CCJRC’s civic engagement and volunteer program manager, the organization has worked on voting programs in Denver’s jails since 2016 and wanted to do something to promote more voter engagement this year.

“The ‘I Voted’ sticker contest was designed to engage inmates in the voting process and promote civic participation,” Ross says, “allowing participants to get creative and design their own stickers.”

Ross says CCJRC received many entries with heartfelt messages and a variety of artistic styles, with two designs winning the contest. One depicts a Colorado flag with the words “I Voted” running along the stripes of the flag; the “o” in “voted” is drawn as the state flag’s signature “C,” while the “d” is the logo of the City and County of Denver. The other design showcases a sunset over the mountains in purple, green and orange hues.

“The winners were compensated for their hard work, reinforcing the positive impact of the program,” Ross says. “One of our contestants even secured a mural job around the city upon his release, demonstrating how this initiative can truly make a difference in the lives of those who have been incarcerated.”

Ross says the CCJRC hopes more opportunities like this one will arise for incarcerated people in the future.

Denver has a nation-leading in-custody voting program. A partnership between the Denver Sheriff Department, Office of the Denver Clerk and Recorder’s Elections Division, the CCJRC and the League of Women Voters ensures that eligible voters in jail in Denver are given the resources to register to vote and cast their ballots.

The state of Colorado also held a sticker design competition, though it was more traditional than Denver’s. In the end, Cosmo Bell won. The Fort Collins high-schooler created a sticker that shows a rocky pass in the Garden of the Gods with “I Voted” written in the sky. The “o” in “voted” is a Columbine, the Colorado state flower.

When Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced Bell’s design, she added that the sticker would only be sent out digitally to those who sign up for BallotTrax, Colorado’s notification system that keeps voters abreast of when their ballot is received and counted.