Michigan voters wore paper tags before “I voted” stickers

VoteSticker.org has expanded its history page with records showing that some Michigan voters wore paper tags in the 1910s and 1920s, before modern “I voted” stickers became common. The update adds original source material, digital stickers, and links to official election offices for voters nationwide.

Why it matters: - The history of “I voted” merchandise appears older and more local than many voters may realize. - The new material shows how election participation was marked in schools and communities before adhesive stickers became the norm. - VoteSticker.org also gives voters a free, nonpartisan way to share voting participation and find official election resources.

What happened: - VoteSticker.org updated its history page to document earlier paper tags used by voters in Grand Rapids, Michigan. - The site says the earliest record it found is a notice in the Oct. 31, 1918, issue of the Lowell Ledger, which reported that a local Americanization society planned “to tag every voter” at the November election. - A 1922 book, Americans by Choice by John Palmer Gavit, describes the tags being used in Grand Rapids during the city’s March and April 1919 elections. - The account says voters received the tags only after voting. - Schoolchildren later collected the tags, and schools with the highest totals won flags. - The history page also includes a 1920 student election at Ben Blewett Junior High School in St. Louis, where a school print shop made “I have voted” tags for students who voted.

The details: - The Grand Rapids tags carried the message: “I am an American. I voted. Did you?” - Women handed out the tags at the polls and helped pin them on voters in Grand Rapids. - VoteSticker.org offers free digital “I voted” stickers for every state and Washington, D.C., in English and Spanish. - Visitors can also make custom stickers. - No account or email address is required. - State pages link to official election offices and, where available, official ballot trackers. - Custom stickers are made in the visitor’s browser and are not uploaded to the site. - VoteSticker.org says it is not a government website, and its stickers are not official election-office designs or proof of voting. - The site also tracks the later history of the modern sticker, including Janet Boudreau’s 1987 waving-flag oval for election supply company Intab. - The history page says one question remains unanswered: who printed the first adhesive “I Voted” sticker.

Between the lines: - The archival record suggests that voter identification gestures evolved through local experiments, school contests, and civic campaigns before becoming a familiar election-day tradition. - VoteSticker.org is using that history to turn a simple post-vote share into a source-based public reference tool. - The inclusion of official election links helps separate civic information from the site’s nonofficial sticker designs.

What’s next: - VoteSticker.org is likely to keep expanding its history page as new records surface. - The site may continue to position itself as both a digital sticker generator and a research archive for voting memorabilia.

The bottom line: - Before “I voted” stickers, some Michigan voters wore paper tags, and the paper trail behind them is now part of a broader online history of election-day participation.