“Our results indicate conclusively that the path to increasing voter turnout lies in improving the quality of the stickers provided to voters,” said lead researcher Harlan Bucknell-Dupree. “In a series of field interviews, focus groups, and nationally representative surveys, two things became clear: people primarily vote in order to get stickers, and the average person would be significantly more likely to vote if they got a cooler sticker.”

While the standard circular “I Voted” stickers have historically only induced around 55 percent of eligible voters to vote in presidential elections, the study found that more eye-catching stickers — such as shiny vinyl stickers or big die cut stickers — have much stronger turnout effects.

“In our simulations, voter turnout went through the roof when we added even just a subtle layer of sparkles to the typical ‘I Voted’ sticker,” Bucknell-Dupree emphasized, adding that fancy stickers also far outperformed plastic buttons as rewards for voting. “With high-quality custom stickers starting at just $57 for a batch of 50 two-inch vinyls at stickermule.com, we believe that states all across the country can afford this proven mechanism for boosting voter turnout.”

Bucknell-Dupree noted that his team was still researching potential safeguards to prevent people from trying to get another sparkly sticker by voting twice.