Tri-Cities teen’s ‘I Voted’ sticker wins contest. It will arrive with Nov. ballots
Benton County residents voting in the Nov. 5 presidential election will find more than just their ballot when they get their ballot in the mailbox.
The county’s 126,000 registered voters also will be greeted by a hand-designed “I Voted” sticker courtesy of River View High School sophomore Neydin Padilla.
“That is pretty exciting. I know my family’s excited to get one when they vote. It’s just cool that everyone’s going to see what I did,” she told the Tri-City Herald.
Padilla’s design was named the winner of the Benton County Auditor’s Office’s inaugural “I Voted” sticker contest. County commissioners chose the winner.
Auditor Brenda Chilton and Commissioner Jerome Delvin will present Padilla with a certificate for her accomplishment on Tuesday at her school.
The contest is a chance to get future voters excited and engaged in the election process.
“Neydin is a great kid. She’s very involved, always happy, comes from a big family,” said River View Principal Chris Davis. “She’s involved in everything, whether it be ASB (Associated Student Body), sports or student government — she’s just a great, positive kid to have around the building.”
Padilla, 15, is timid and soft spoken as she describes how her family encouraged her to pursue her drawing passion and how school staff helped her get involved in opportunities where her work could be recognized.
She began drawing when she was 8, under the tutelage of her uncle.
He’s a mechanic who has a love for sketching in his spare time, and taught Padilla the basics of how to draw heads and eyes. Shortly after that, Padilla was finding sketches online to study and imitate.
She continued drawing as she entered high school, and even began submitting her pieces into school district art contests. Her piece, “La Reynade Mexico,” won the Superintendent’s Choice Award at the 2024 ESD 123 High School Art Exhibit this month.
Davis asked Danielle Helvie-Juarez’s art class about submitting an original piece to the auditor’s sticker contest.
Using markers, pens and pencils, Padilla drew her contest-winning piece in just 20 minutes.
“I feel like I do better with colored pencils and markers rather than digital stuff. I feel like that’s easier for me,” she said. “That’s just what we had there, and so I decided to make something out of it.”
Padilla’s design is simple but bold. It shows three hands raised, each belonging to people from different races, with an American Flag in the background and the words “I Voted” sketched in the narrow margin’s of the flag’s white stripes.
“I wanted that sticker to be for everyone,” Padilla said.
Padilla hopes that as voters submit their ballots this fall and put on her sticker, that they’ll be encouraged to continue being civically engaged citizens.
“They should keep voting,” she said.
