Lack of ‘I Voted’ stickers for Election Day lamented by women’s group

Joan Krantz, left, leads a meeting with Women on Watch (WOW) members during a meeting at member at her home in Stamford, Conn. Monday, Oct. 30, 2017. Women on Watch is a grassroots political initiative promoting awareness, advocacy and action relating to key local and national issues. less Joan Krantz, left, leads a meeting with Women on Watch (WOW) members during a meeting at member at her home in Stamford, Conn. Monday, Oct. 30, 2017. Women on Watch is a grassroots political initiative ... more Photo: Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media Photo: Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Lack of ‘I Voted’ stickers for Election Day lamented by women’s group 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

STAMFORD — “I Voted” stickers. Many who go to the polls on Election Day wear them as a badge of honor.

In recent years, Election Day selfies in which voters pose proudly wearing their stickers have flooded social media, serving as both proof the wearer did their civic duty and as a subtle reminder to others to do the same.

But those voting in Stamford this year will not be joining in the fun.

Voting stickers have been a sore spot in Stamford since 2004, when a poll worker in Springdale stuck an “I Voted” sticker on the lapel of Robert Bonoff’s faux suede jacket. Later, when he removed the sticker, Bonoff said the adhesive left a mark, so he filed a claim against the city for the cost of the jacket, $106.

As a result, Stamford registrars halted the handing out of the stickers at the polls.

“It was a big deal for us,” Republican registrar Lucy Corelli said of Bonoff’s suit. “Our (former) city attorney ended up on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and it ended up making national news.”

After the jacket incident, Corelli said the registrars, in consort with the city and then-City Attorney Tom Cassone, decided the registrar’s office would no longer provide Election Day stickers, nor would poll workers hand them out.

The idea, Corelli said, was to sever the city’s ties to the stickers, both financially and physically, in order to “avoid any possibility of a lawsuit in the future.”

Dismayed there would be no stickers during last year’s presidential election — which promised an enormous turnout — the ladies of Women on Watch, a local grassroots group, approached the registrar’s office to see if they could work out a compromise. But WoW member Maureen Gilfeather said they were met with resistance.

So WoW took matters into their own hands, raising the funds to purchase 50,000 stickers and distributing them to polling places.

“It was a lot of work and a lot of driving, but there was a lot of positive feedback,” Gilfeather said, adding she had hoped the work they did last year might pave the way for future elections.

“We did it last year because we felt bad that the people at the polling places were under so much pressure (from voters wanting the stickers), fully expecting that if it went well, the registrar’s office would pick it up and do it again this year,” she said.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

“We attempted to get the cooperation of the Registrars of Voters by writing them last month,” Gilfeather said. “We were even willing to raise the funds to pay for 50 rolls of 1,000 stickers - a total of $210 - if this was a budgetary concern.”

But the registrar’s office was not receptive, she said.

“We were told we could purchase the stickers and distribute them ourselves, but that the registrar’s office and its workers would not be involved,” Gilfeather said.

“It’s disappointing,” she continued. “We don’t have the resources to get this task done this year. Furthermore, we feel it should not be the responsibility of any volunteer group to take this on when the only thing required is to place several rolls of stickers in the boxes that are prepared for each district.”

Gilfeather said the situation has left her baffled.

“We are deeply disappointed that ‘I Voted’ stickers will not be available this year to celebrate citizens who have taken the time to exercise the most important duty of a democratic society — voting,” she wrote in a letter to the Stamford Advocate.

“All our neighboring cities and towns do this. Scholarly research has found that ‘I Voted’ stickers increase turnout and engender community pride. We are puzzled as to why Stamford’s registrars are so resistant to this small but meaningful acknowledgment of people exercising their franchise.”

kat.russell@stamfordadvocate.com