Admit it. Other than exercising your American right and contributing to the glorious tradition of democracy, getting a little sticker may be the best part of voting.
The stickers have been around since the 1980s and they come in all different shapes and sizes. If there was an award for cutest sticker, Alaska’s would get our vote.
“I Voted” stickers are a badge of pride because “they tell people … you care enough about your community to do the important work of voting,” said Patrick Race, the illustrator behind the Alaska stickers.
CNN asked people across the country to show us their stickers after voting. We received over 3,000 photos. Here are some of our favorites – one from each state.
Alabama
Tamara Neeley of Fort Payne took her daughters to the polls Tuesday morning to teach them about why it’s important to vote. “It is never too early to start educating our kids about voting!,” she told CNN.
Alaska
Josie Ambridge didn’t let her busy work and school schedule stop her from casting her vote in Anchorage. Her reward? A king crab sticker!
Arizona
Cristina Musch became a US citizen on September 11, 2018. She has been wanting to vote for the last 9 years – a dream that came true Tuesday when she cast her very first vote in Maricopa Couty, Arizona. “I don’t want to take my civil liberty for granted,” she told CNN.
Arkansas
Halloween isn’t over for the “Evans Seven” of Bentonville, Arkansas. Jenna and Austin Evans took their five little ones with them to the polls – all dressed up and ready to help mom and dad vote.
California
Darien Sills-Evans of Los Angeles, California, voted by mail. He said he couldn’t believe how easy it was. Also, he still got a sticker.
Colorado
Colorado has several important issues on the ballot this year, said Lisa Truong Nguyen of Centennial, who shared her “I voted” photo to encourage others to vote.
Connecticut
Dale Staub, a registered nurse, looks proud of her vote.
Delaware
Lyn Anderson of Newark said she woke up early to cast her vote so she could have the rest of the day to drive other folks to the polls.
District of Columbia
Ben LaMaster, left, and husband Danny Tippett LaMaster voted early in the nation’s capital.
Florida
Hurricane Michael destroyed Joshua Koterba’s usual polling place. But that didn’t stop him from finding a new one and casting an early vote.
Georgia
Kalpana Baskar and her husband voted in Suwanee, a suburb of Atlanta.
Hawaii
A group of high school students from Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu got together Monday to cast an early vote.
Idaho
Judy and Clark Fleege sported a patriotic look – red and blue with white stickers – as they voted in Boise Tuesday morning.
Illinois
Raul Amezquita voted for the first time as a citizen of the US after immigrating from Mexico. His wife Pamela Cook voted with him in Evanston to witness the milestone.
Indiana
David (he didn’t give his last name) voted early in Logansport.
Iowa
Friends Amon Rizvi and Ellyn Felton exercised their right to vote in Linn County, Iowa.
Kansas
The Grieshabers made going to the polls a family affair after someone told their son, “My one vote doesn’t matter.” Shayna Grieshaber shared their family selfie and said, “Elections have literally been won and lost by 1, 10 or 100 votes before, so stop making excuses and exercise your right to vote!”
Kentucky
Kenny Robinson voted bright and early in Villa Hills on Tuesday. Robinson told CNN his polling place was crowded and had to wait about 15 minutes, which was longer than he waited in 2016 for the presidential election.
Louisiana
Lisa LaFleur may be the only voter in Metairie, Louisiana, rocking a voting sticker from the previous election. But can you blame her? There’s a dog on it.
Maine
Bowen Depke of Cape Elizabeth woke up bright and early to have his voice heard.
Maryland
Maria Cole of Howard County, Maryland, said democracy is a participatory sport and she is passionate about voting.
Massachusetts
Kris Hughes of Plymouth is 50 and had never voted before. She didn’t think her single vote mattered, but her 28- and 19-year-old sons convinced her otherwise.
Michigan
High school teacher Laura Schmidt of Bay City wore the perfect outfit to cast her vote Tuesday morning.
Minnesota
Motivated to see a better turnout by student voters, Brian Rosas of Minneapolis cast his first-ever midterm election vote on Monday.
Mississippi
It’s always cute when a mother-daughter duo match outfits, but it’s even cuter when they match stickers. Lesley Tackitt voted with her daughter Diana before school in Tupelo.
Missouri
Carol Zimmer is not letting a stem cell transplant slow her down. She walked to the polls Tuesday to cast her vote in Springfield.
Montana
Nicole and Wesley Care didn’t let the first snow of the season stop them from casting their votes in Belgrade. Despite the weather, their polling place was much busier than in previous elections.
Nebraska
At this time, we ask you to turn your device upside down to fully appreciate this cool sticker from Michaela Synhorst, who took her kids to the polls in Papillion.
Nevada
Zurii Mershant took her whole family to cast votes in Las Vegas.
New Hampshire
A wet, dreary day in Conway didn’t keep people from lining up before the polls opened at 8 a.m., said Bart and Betty Bachman. For the first time in their 40 years together, the couple voted mostly the same all the way down the ballot.
New Jersey
Matt Błażejewski of Trenton doesn’t have a sticker to show, but that’s because he’s displaying his absentee ballot he sent all the way from Hangzhou, China.
New Mexico
Crystal Carrasco brought 10-year-old daughter Ella to the polls in Rio Rancho to vote for their “lives and rights.”
New York
Kate Klein models her New York subway-themed “I voted” sticker.
North Carolina
This is Bisbee, who waited in the car as her human Suja Ganji went to cast a vote in Greensboro.
North Dakota
Larry Holst and his mother-in-law, 95, voted early in Fargo.
Ohio
Christina Patel of Columbus doesn’t usually vote in the midterms, but the current political climate has encouraged her to cast a ballot to “help bring democracy back to our people.”
Oklahoma
Three generations, three votes. Teresa Underwood, center, voted with her mother and grandmother Tuesday morning.
Oregon
This voter in Salem, who didn’t give us his name, loves his bike and exercising his American right.
Pennsylvania
Lin Ewing of Pittsburgh shows off her “I voted” sticker – a symbol of solidarity and strength after the deadly attack at a Pittsburgh synagogue in late October.
Rhode Island
The Clarksons of Middletown exercised their right to vote to show their kids that all voices matter.
South Carolina
Billie Morton showed his American pride while casting his vote in Fort Mill.
South Dakota
Friends who vote together, stay together! Cole McDougall and Ally Monson voted Monday in Brookings.
Tennessee
This is Nick Ignomirello’s first time voting in midterm elections. The Knoxville voter is wearing an “I Voted” sticker shaped like his state.
Texas
“If one doesn’t vote, one doesn’t have a right to complain,” said Dr. Tuan Pham of Austin.
Utah
Steven Shane of Salt Lake City said voting in the midterms was very important to him.
Vermont
Waffle and Zoey of Thetford, Vermont, took their humans – Sara Ecker, Ty and Kait – to cast a vote.
Virginia
“This is not an election cycle to sleep on!” said Sheena Ballard, right, as she voted with her mom bright and early in Alexandria.
Washington
Washington is a vote-by-mail state, but that didn’t stop Hillary Coleman and Livio De La Cruz from showing they #JustVoted.
West Virginia
Samuel Lowe and Brandy Hamrick exercised their right to vote in Charleston.
Wisconsin
Isabelle Dunai of Waunakee voted for the first time ever. Her mother, Rebecca Dunai, and her cute pup (well, her mother, at least) seem extremely proud of her.
Wyoming
Doreen Jarman of Teton County thought early voting would spare her from the long lines, but she was wrong. She voted anyway.