Students Invited to Design “I Voted” Sticker for Oakland County
(Oakland County Board of Commissioners, Aug. 27, 2019)
Pontiac, MI- Earlier this month, the Board of Commissioners, in partnership with Oakland County Clerk Lisa Brown and Oakland Schools, began accepting designs for Oakland County’s new “I Voted!” sticker commemorating Women’s Suffrage. The stickers will be distributed to voters at precincts across Oakland County during the March 2020 and August 2020 elections.
The contest, which is open to Oakland County students in grades 6-12, was created by the Board’s Celebration of Women’s Suffrage Ad Hoc Committee to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage. One winner from grades 6-8 and 9-12 will receive $1,000 courtesy of Cornerstone Financial Credit Union. The teachers sponsoring each of the winners will also receive $250 for their classroom.
Designs should include the words ‘I Voted!’ and portray the celebratory theme of “The 100^th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage.” Judging will be based on use of creativity, artistic skill, execution and interpretation of the theme. Designs must be submitted online at www.oakgov.com/VotesForWomen no later than Friday, October 18, 2019. The winning students will be honored at the Board of Commissioners meeting on Wednesday, November 20, 2019.
“We’re excited to raise awareness among Oakland County students about the 70-year struggle women endured to gain the right to vote,” said Commissioner Marcia Gershenson (D-Bloomfield Township) who chairs the Celebration of Women’s Suffrage Ad Hoc Committee. “This contest serves as a reminder of all the women whose shoulders we stand upon.”
“I’m excited to be a part of this initiative and see the ideas submitted by our students,” said Brown. “Engaging our youth, and educating them about the struggle, I hope will remind them to value, and utilize, their right to vote when they are 18 years old.”
“Oakland Schools is proud to partner with the Oakland County Commissioners in their yearlong celebration of the 100^th anniversary of women’s suffrage and the passage of the 19^th amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote,” said Superintendent of Oakland Schools Dr. Wanda Cook-Robinson. “Through creative and lucrative initiatives like the ‘I Voted!’ sticker contest, I’m sure many Oakland County students will participate and illustrate their understanding of this very important period in our history. Knowing firsthand how talented our students are, I can’t wait to see the winning designs.”
On March 14, 2019, the Board established the Celebration of Women’s Suffrage Ad Hoc Committee. Board Vice Chairwoman Marcia Gershenson serves as chair of the committee, which also includes Commissioners Angela Powell (D-Pontiac) and Tom Kuhn (R-Troy). Throughout the next year, the committee will invite Oakland County residents to learn more about the history of women’s suffrage through a variety of programming and events.
For more information about the contest, please visit www.oakgov.com/VotesForWomen. For more information about the Board of Commissioners, please visit www.oakgov.com/boc or call 248-858-0100.