In a small community in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, resides a middle school student with a knack for art. One afternoon, not anticipating much, she snapped a picture of her latest drawing and decided to share it online; a move that has since garnered national attention.
The particular drawing in question, diverging from the usual political tones, has gone viral and featured on various national broadcasts. With the November election barely two months away, some see her drawing as an expression of the mix of emotions or anxiety of the citizens. Nonetheless, the young girl, Jane, avers that her drawing had nothing to do with politics.
Rather than contributing to the saturated political discourse, Jane aimed for a lighter approach. The seventh-grader explains, “I just wanted to create something fun that would lighten up the serious topic of voting.” It seems that her knack for creative expressions goes way back to when she was four, as she would often use her parents’ iPad for her doodling adventures. Since then, she’s expanded her craft to include beaded bracelets, origami art, and even shoe box dioramas.
Jane expressed initial doubt about her participation in a sticker contest organized by her school. The fear of her offerings not standing out clouded her interest. However, out of boredom and with no interest in the movie ‘National Treasure,’ she decided to give it a shot, armed with markers and pens from her pencil case.
Assuming the majority of the competition would adopt Michigan-specific themes like lighthouses, trout or white-tailed deer, Jane chose a more unique path. Her distinctive werewolf drawing was completed in under an hour. A striking statement that indeed stood out among the 480 designs submitted to the Michigan Department of State between May and June.
Michigan’s contest found it’s inspiration in similar events in other states. Zena Aljilehawi, the chair of a college student-led task force that organized the competition, explained to The Post. For instance, a third-grader from Kentucky spiced up the contest with a humanoid lizard drawing, while a 14-year-old from New York in 2022 opted for a discombobulated human head atop six turquoise legs.
The hope for the Michigan counterpart was to get equally intriguing submissions. It imposed just few rules: The design must say “I Voted,” maintain a nonpartisan stance, steer clear from artificial intelligence and above all, the artists should “be creative and HAVE FUN!”
Apparently, Jane’s werewolf design made an immediate impact on the competition panel. Aljilehawi recounts the enthusiastic response from the 33-member task force when they first saw it and how they believed it would win the competition. “Our group chat went crazy,” recalls Aljilehawi, a junior majoring in Biology, Health and Society at the University of Michigan.
As with art, different interpretations followed the debut of Jane’s werewolf design. Some members of the task force linked it to the legend of the Michigan Dogman — a humanoid dog supposedly spotted in North Michigan during the 1880s. Others saw it as a symbol of liberty and openness. Aljilehawi fondly referred to it as giving off ‘freedom’ and ‘rock-and-roll energy.’
The werewolf design also made an impression on Angela Benander, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of State, who described the art as ‘delightfully unhinged.’ This charming interpretation provided, in her words, ‘a fun twist on what feels like a crazy season’ to many people.
Eventually, Jane’s unique work was selected as a semi-finalist by the task force that collaborates with the Michigan Department of State in encouraging youth participation in voting processes. It was open to the public to vote for the winning designs on the department’s website. Jane was ecstatic to learn the news while spending time near Lake Huron. ‘It was really surprising,’ Jane recalled. ‘I’m standing there in a bathing suit, like, ‘What?’’
Ultimately, testament to its popularity, Jane’s design earned about 20,000 public votes. These figures represented about 2,000 more votes than any other submission, according to Samantha May, another spokesperson for the Michigan Department of State.
The announcement of the winning designs came on the 4th of September. Among the winners were a range of cartoon scenarios featuring an ‘I VOTED’ message: a cat with a sign, a deer in sun glasses, a lighthouse projection, a reversed ‘e’ rendering and the ode to Midwest slang: ‘OPE, I VOTED.’
News about Jane’s accolade soon spread among her classmates as her winning werewolf design started appearing on their social media feeds. The usage of the design wasn’t limited to her peer group; State officials also caught the werewolf sticker frenzy. The Michigan Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, and Derek Dobies from Michigan’s AFL-CIO used it in their posts.
Jane’s design even gained recognition from comedian and host John Oliver. On his show ‘Last Week Tonight,’ the comedian jokingly said that he would go as far as committing voter fraud to obtain more copies of her unique sticker.
Looking ahead to the November elections, Michigan polling places will adopt Jane’s werewolf design among others to hand out to registered voters. Benander anticipates the popular werewolf stickers will deplete quickly. Forward-thinking Jane expresses her delight, hoping that her unique design could bring joy to voters. ‘They’re going to be wearing this on their chest the day they vote,’ she said, ‘and I want them to be proud of it.’