Nine student designs top Michigan's 2026 sticker contest
Voters in Monroe and Huntington Woods will also see locally created art during the Nov. 3 election.
By Andrew Bennett ·
Michigan voters can select one of nine new sticker designs created by students and residents when they cast ballots this year.
The 2026 collection features nine winning entries from the Secretary of State's statewide contest. These designs include work from K-12 students in Romulus, Detroit, and Dearborn Heights, as well as entries from Woodhaven, Redford Township, and Oak Park. Artists were required to include the phrase "I Voted" in their original, nonpartisan submissions. Themes in the collection range from U.S. flags to Michigan landmarks.
Stickers are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis at precincts on Election Day. In some jurisdictions, they are also available during early in-person voting. This practice continues a grassroots tradition in the United States dating back to the 1980s, where communities create unique designs for election day distribution.
Local election clerks in Southeast Michigan added their own contests for the 2026 midterms. Monroe held a competition open to students ages 5 through 18. The city selected three age bracket winners and two clerk's choice winners, resulting in ten distinct sticker designs for distribution. Huntington Woods is incorporating its sticker contest into city centennial celebrations. The winning artist was scheduled to be announced on Tuesday, with designs to be given to voters on Nov. 3.
The current program follows the first statewide sticker contest held in 2024. That year's series featured a howling werewolf design by Grosse Pointe student Jayne Hynous. The popularity of that specific design led to individual stickers being sold for prices above face value.
