How NYC Boosted Early Voting Turnout With Battle of the Boroughs Stickers

149,319 New Yorkers cast ballots on the final day of early voting in 2024—the highest single-day early voting turnout in New York City history. To grasp what that number means, picture the alternative: more than 5 million registered voters funneling through over 1,200 poll sites in just 15 hours on Election Day, a crush that has long defined how the city votes and strained poll workers during high-turnout years.

That record day capped a nine-day early voting period that the Board of Elections in the City of New York deliberately turned into a citywide competition. As the U.S. Election Assistance Commission marks the 10th anniversary of its Clearinghouse Awards, the federal agency is spotlighting the Board’s 2024 Clearie win in the Creative and Original “I Voted” Stickers category, a low-cost program called “Battle of the Boroughs” that swapped solemn civic duty for borough pride and bragging rights.

Five Landmarks, Five Rivalries

The mechanics were disarmingly simple. For the final weekend of early voting, the Board issued five limited-edition “I Voted” stickers, each featuring an iconic landmark from one of the five boroughs. Voters could collect the sticker of their home borough, wear it as a badge of civic participation, and share it online to declare that their borough was “on top.” The idea leaned into something the Board had already noticed unfolding organically: New Yorkers on social media egging each other on, challenging friends and neighbors to turn out, and celebrating when their borough led the daily posted turnout numbers.

Inside NYC's hidden sticker battle

Since early voting debuted in New York City in 2019, the Board has been looking for ways to make it not just an option but a habit, helping alleviate lines and congestion on Election Day. The sticker contest gave that habit a tangible, shareable identity. Overall, 23% of voters who participated in the 2024 general election voted early, while 59% of active registrants cast ballots. In a jurisdiction where Election Day means 15 hours and 1,200 sites, spreading participation across nine days changes the math for everyone standing in line or working the polls.

Georgea Kontzamanis, the Board of Elections’ Operations Manager, said the Board wanted to make voting feel a little more personal, a little more fun, and unmistakably New York. Another aim was practical: getting more New Yorkers to try early voting and incorporate it into their voting routines. New Yorkers have an incredible sense of identity and pride in their boroughs, and the Board saw an opportunity to turn that pride into a friendly little competition. Given that New Yorkers adore a good rivalry, the stickers evolved beyond mere souvenirs into a compact symbol of civic participation, borough pride and bragging rights.

Turning Pride Into Turnout

The strategy worked because it started with behavior the Board was already observing, not an abstract marketing campaign. The response was immediate and highly visible; by the final day, the competition had extended well beyond the polling place into a citywide conversation, with voters comparing turnout and cheering on their home boroughs. The 149,319 ballots on that last day represented not just a record, but proof that a small, creative idea could move real numbers in a city of this scale.

Kontzamanis emphasizes that improving the voting experience does not always require major technological or logistical changes. The award-winning entry notes that civic engagement can be serious without being solemn, and that a simple idea rooted in genuine local identity can generate excitement around early voting. For poll sites that would otherwise face overwhelming crowds on a single 15-hour day, the nine-day spread offers practical relief to both voters and election workers.

Sharing the Playbook

With the Clearinghouse Awards celebrating a decade of highlighting election innovations, the EAC is using the anniversary to encourage other jurisdictions to submit their own successful practices. Kontzamanis tells election officials who are hesitant to enter: submit it. Election offices are constantly innovating, but they do not always stop to recognize or share what is working. A successful practice does not have to be a sweeping overhaul; it can be a simple idea that solves a real problem. Her advice is to start by paying attention to the community—the best ideas may already be happening around you, and sharing what works can spark another office to think differently.

For a city that once defined Election Day by its long lines and 15-hour waits, the 2024 numbers tell a different story: 149,319 voters on a single early voting day, and nearly a quarter of all 2024 ballots cast before Election Day arrived.