THE LOOP — Stickers are out. Wristbands are in.
Election administrators rolled out the new accessory at their early voting "super site" on its first day of operation Monday. The red, white and blue band looks something like a one-day festival pass, with "I VOTED! DID YOU?" printed all the way around.
So far, officials are calling the change a success.
"We've gotten a lot of positive feedback," said Lance Gough, executive director of the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. "We've been seeing a lot of people holding them up and taking selfies with them."
President Barack Obama even got one, Gough said, after he cast his ballot Downtown on Friday.
While back home in Chicago, @POTUS casts his ballot. pic.twitter.com/sIL3sbhB6C
— Eric Schultz (@Schultz44) October 7, 2016
During this year's primary election in March, voters were dismayed at the unexplained absence of "I voted" stickers, nowadays a cornerstone of U.S. democracy.
But they had to be phased out, Gough said. They'd created too much mess.
"We'd been getting complaints from schools, stores, condos, everywhere — about stickers being stuck on the walls," he said. "It became too much. So we switched to the wristbands."
On his way out of the polling station Monday, Alex Stopak struggled to affix the sticky end of the paper band around his wrist.
"I guess you kind of need a friend to help you get it on right," he said. "I think it looks good, though. It definitely lasts longer than a sticker."
Janice Kates, meanwhile, stuffed the band into her purse as she walked out to the street.
"I'd wear a sticker, but I think a wristband is a bit much," she said. "It's a little tacky."
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