Thanks to an irreverent submission by a freshman at Rondout Valley High School, the second annual Ulster County “I Voted” sticker contest has gone viral.
Hudson Rowan, a 14-year-old from Marbletown has garnered an impressive 93 percent of the votes in a six-way race of teenage finalists with his sticker design, which eschews traditional patriotic motifs in favor of a wild-eyed human head on insect legs rendered in bold psychedelic colors.
The percentage is impressive, but so too is the vote count, which as of press time sees him comfortably ahead of the pack with 224,664 votes. To put that into demographic perspective, according to the 2020 U.S. Census, Ulster County has 181,851 residents.
The outsized popularity of Rowan’s design, and the county’s contest, can be attributed to the power of social media, where images of the widely-smiling human-spider proclaiming, “I VOTED” were circulated soon after the contest got underway a few weeks ago.
“It’s been so nice to get so much positive support from people,” said Hudson this week. “(I was) very surprised.”
Hudson said he was influenced in participating in the contest by his mother, Molly Rowan, who has since coordinated his many media queries from media outlets like the New York Times and CBS News. In a televised interview with the latter, he said he wasn’t enthusiastic at first, but soon found inspiration in the “spider-robots” he used to paint when he was younger.
In an interview with Hudson Valley One, Hudson elaborated on how he hit upon his popular “I Voted” submission.
“I started sketching out different designs and styles until it all came together,” he said.
The other five finalists in the county’s contest have also received impressive vote tallies thus far, with fellow Marbletown residents, 14-year-old Wendy Stewart and 13-year-old Phoebe Stewart, receiving around 7,400 and 1,500 votes respectively. Also among the finalists are 18-year-old New Paltz resident Kaeden Bredberg (2,400 votes), 18-year-old New Paltz resident Shafil Sabbir (1,200 votes), and a 15-year-old from Gardiner named Melissa (1,800 votes), whose last name is not public.
The viral popularity of Hudson Rowan’s design and the “I Voted” sticker contest is a good thing, said Ashley Dittus (D), who alongside John Quigley (R) is an Election Commissioner for the Ulster County Board of Elections.
“We have been overwhelmed and pleasantly surprised by how far reaching our ‘I Voted’ sticker contest has gone this year,” said Dittus. “The contest was launched two years ago as a part of our youth voter engagement program, and I think that because this is a contest for and by youth that it has resonated with younger people in a way that I have never seen before.”
Dittus said she hopes the buzz in July will bring people out to the polls in November.
“If the sticker inspires people to vote in person to the degree they have voted for the contest online, then we should see a boost in turnout at the polls this November,” Dittus said. “We have heard from people all over the country and beyond, from the UK to Australia, who have seen and loved our contest and want to get a sticker. It is my sincere hope that our contest, and the attention it has put onto voting will inspire other election administrators to not just do their own sticker contest, but to engage with the younger people in their communities.”
Hudson said he was pleased his design was bringing attention to the election process. “I would be very happy if I influenced people to go out and vote,” he said.
The Ulster County Board of Elections’ “I Voted” sticker contest runs through Friday, July 29, at which time the official winner will be announced for Election Day on Tuesday, November 8, with stickers available beginning with early voting on Saturday, October 29. The Board of Elections has also decided to run a special series for the primary and special voting session on Tuesday, August 23, beginning with early voting on Saturday, August 13, with all five runner-up stickers being printed and voters each receiving one of the five.
As for what’s next for Hudson Rowan, artist?
“I am not totally sure,” he said. “I am going to look at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) in the fall, but I’m not totally sure of the future.”
To vote in the Ulster County Board of Elections’ “I Voted” sticker contest, visit: https://elections.ulstercountyny.gov/i-voted-sticker-contest/.
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