Colorado students design unique 'I Voted' stickers | News | gazette.com

El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s Office “I voted” sticker winners with the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners and Clerk and Recorder Steve Schleiker. From left: Christopher Hernandez, Emma Haylsey, Gianna Durow, Katie Gibbs and Katie Westerhaus.

Katie Gibbs 11th Grade – Village High School

Recorder’s Office

Emma Haysley 11th Grade – Pine Creek High School

Kaliena Heckert 7th Grade – Watson Junior High

Recorder’s Office

Gianna Durow 7th Grade – Classical Academy Junior High

Katie Westerhaus 5th Grade – Prairie Winds Elementary

Recorder’s Office

Christopher Hernandez 4th Grade – Wildflower Elementary

Voters receiving their ballots in the mail this year will have six Colorado Springs students to thank for the unique designs on their "I Voted" stickers.

The El Paso County Clerk and Recorder's Office received more than 140 design submissions this year from elementary through high school students. The winning group ranged from fourth to 11th grade and tackled the art project with an imaginative gamut of designs.

The stickers are included with the ballots that the office started sending out Oct. 11, said El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Steve Schleiker.

Christopher Hernandez, a fourth grader at Wildflower Elementary, told El Paso County commissioners Tuesday that his sticker featuring an astronaut holding a flag was inspired by space.

"I was thinking about the first moon landing," he said.

Other students chose patriotic or Colorado-specific designs. Emma Haysley, a junior at Pine Creek High School, said she took inspiration from stamp designs with native state flowers and wildlife.

"I wanted to include symbols of Colorado that weren't your first picks or mainstream ideas," she said.

The project this year was spearheaded by election specialist Sam Ortiz, according to Schleiker. He said the entries were printed and chosen at the clerk's office.

"The conference table in the clerk's office was completely filled," he said.

The six winners received a plaque with their art, 100 stickers to distribute and an Amazon gift card.

"It inspires the younger generation and reminds active voters the importance of the democratic process, and to get out and vote," Schleiker said.

A few weeks remain until the Nov. 5 general election, when voters across El Paso and Teller counties will cast their votes for a slew of natio…