Fired up midterm election voters complained Tuesday that polling places had run out of “I Voted” stickers, while others were selling the mementos on eBay for up to $5.99.
Reports of the sticker shortage started early. “My voting precinct ran out of ‘I Voted’ stickers, so I took a picture with a sign instead,” tweeted Lanaya Lewis, a voter in Flowood, Mississippi at 8:30 a.m. on Election Day.
The pint-sized symbols of democracy in action seemed to hold extra allure this midterm season as Republicans fought to maintain control of the Senate and Democrats battled for control of the House.
I can't show you a picture because my polling place was OUT OF STICKERS but please believe me, I voted!
— Joanna (@Proton_Jojo) November 6, 2018
Voters desperate for stickers had other options besides polling places for getting in on the action. Snapchat SNAP, +2.75% added an “I Voted” filter and Instagram FB, +0.85% let users put “I Voted” stickers to Stories on the platform.
And a few of the actual stickers were even for sale on eBay EBAY, +1.05% on Tuesday at the bargain price of $1.
Some voters were eager to show off the stickers on social media as proof that they were doing their part for either the “Red Sweep” or “Blue Wave.” The stickers held some other value, too: businesses around the country offered freebies and discounts to customers wearing them.
Though turnout for midterms is typically low — just 36% voted in 2014, the lowest since World War II — this closely watched election attracted record numbers of early voters.
That could be part of the reason why at least one Tennessee voter was left stickerless when he cast his ballot on Nov. 1, the last day of early voting in the state, home to a heated U.S. Senate race.
Voting that day was “heavy” and continued to be very busy on Election Day, said Mark Goins, Tennessee’s coordinator of elections. “We are having a record turnout for a midterm election,” Goins told MarketWatch on Tuesday. But running out of “I Voted” stickers wasn’t high on Goins’ list of worries, he said. “We have had significant storms in Tennessee and that has been our focus today,” Goins said.
In Louisiana, officials pointed the finger at “budget constraints” after voters in Baton Rouge and New Orleans didn’t receive the stickers.
In an election season that’s been darkened by fears of voter suppression, hacks and foreign interference, the sticker shortages were one “problem” that some voters interpreted as a positive sign of robust turnout.
My polling location was out of stickers by the time I voted at 9AM. I was a little disappointed, but took it as a sign turnout was good.
— Jeff (@jefffreyspies) November 6, 2018
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