“I voted” stickers in English and Spanish, Virginia, USA, November 2014. (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) photo.)

Dallas County is trying to teach youth about the election process with a fun interactive competition that will roll until the beginning of April.

According to Dallas County Auditor Todd Halbur, the inaugural “I Voted” Sticker Design Contest is open now and offers a chance for students in sixth through eighth grade to create their own version for Dallas County. He says that students will have an opportunity to design the sticker that will represent Dallas County in the 2025 city and school general election. Halbur tells Raccoon Valley Radio that he’s hoping the contest will further educate the importance of the election process to the youth in the county.

“It’s just really not about the sticker, it’s about that connection and conversation with our youth. So with youth, parents, (and) grandparents, maybe apart of their conversation is the design of it, the theme of what elections means to them. And getting input maybe from their parents or grandparents or older people. So, I think it’s a great way for us to introduce them to the election process, and then hopefully that transitions to them being voters, when they’re 18 (years old).”

Halbur indicates that the contest is open to students enrolled in public schools, private schools, those who are homeschooled, and students that live in Dallas County, but might attend school elsewhere. He emphasizes that the “I Vote” sticker will only apply to Dallas County and not the state of Iowa, and that the competition will restart every year to switch between city elections and political elections. Students have until 4:30pm on April 7th to submit their designs. For more information and to access the online form, click here.