The students behind the 'I-Voted' stickers in El Paso County

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – For those voting, many of you will have received or have already received a unique “I-Voted” sticker. Those stickers were designed by six local El Paso County students, the winners of the student sticker competition ‘I voted’ at the clerk’s office.

“I didn’t hear from them at all, so I figured they didn’t pick me,” said competition winner Katie Gibbs. “And then my mom just got a letter in the mail, and she said, ‘Katie, you won!’ And I thought, ‘No way!’”

“I kind of turned around and thought, ‘Oh, I’m not going to win. That’s fine, whatever. It doesn’t really matter to me,” another competition winner, Gianna Durow, explained. “And then I realized I won… I thought, ‘Wow, that’s really cool!'”

An estimated 140 designs were submitted, ranging from elementary school students to high school students. In mid-October, the six winners and their families were allowed to present their stickers during the meeting of the Supervisory Board. The purpose of this contest was to inspire students to get involved in the election process, even if they are not yet old enough to vote.

“It makes me feel special, and it makes me feel like I’m part of the country and that I can contribute to the voting process,” said contest winner Katie Westerhaus.

“Students were chosen from all over the city, from many different schools, even though there were only six. I think this touches a lot of different people and gets them excited about the elections and the voting process,” said Gianna Durow. mother, Patty Durow, explained.

Gianna Durow, an eighth-grader at Classical Academy North Campus, was inspired to apply by her art teacher.

“I decided to draw an eagle, because I’ve always loved eagles, and I also decided to add the colors of the American flag into it,” Durow said.

Katie Westerhaus, a sixth-grader at Prairie Winds Elementary School, wanted her design to represent El Paso County.

“I wanted to include our state flag and our country flag,” Westerhaus told 11 News.

Katie Gibbs, a senior at Village High School, told 11 news that she wanted to embody everything Colorado in her sticker, including the colors, the Colorado welcome sign and the mountains.

“I’ve been into art since I can remember, probably since I could pick up a crayon, to be honest,” Gibbs said. “It’s really exciting that people from all over El Paso County are going to get my sticker. I keep getting texts from people saying, ‘Hey, my brother or sister got your sticker… I got your sticker!’”

Click here to view all six students’ “I-Voted” sticker designs.