El Pasoans who vote in elections in 2026 will be rewarded with stickers designed by students from Eastwood High School and Coach Wally Hartley PK-8 School.

Novalie Leone Fortenbery, a sophomore at Eastwood, and Sophia Salas, a fourth-grader at Coach Wally Hartley, were the winners in this year’s El Paso County Elections Department contest.

For several years, the Elections Department has distributed voting stickers designed by El Paso students, rather than stickers mass-produced nationally. The stickers have El Paso and Texas themes.

In previous years, one winner was selected for the design. This year, the Elections Department chose winners in two categories – “Future Voter,” for students in elementary school, and “I Voted,” for high school students.

The “Future Voter” stickers are given to children who accompany their parents or other adults to the polling sites, while “I Voted” stickers are given to voters who cast ballots.

“This year, we received 162 submissions compared to the 68 submissions for the last midterm election year. We are grateful for the students who take the time to share their beautiful art with us and the teachers who continue to encourage their students to participate” Lisa Wise, El Paso County elections administrator, said in a statement.

In addition to the first-place winners in each category, a panel of judges also selected second- and third-place winners.

Sofia Alexa Garcia, a senior at Horizon High School, was second in the I Voted category, and Jamilet Margarita Garcia, a senior at Mountain View High School, was third.

The top three designs among high schoolers who entered the voting sticker contest sponsored by the El Paso County Elections Department.

In the Future Voter category, second place went to Zoe Tarango, a sixth-grader at Alicia R. Chacon International School, and third place went to Francella Belen Marin, a fifth-grader at Lamar Elementary School.

The top three elementary school winners in a voting sticker contest sponsored by the El Paso County Elections Department.

The midterm primaries in Texas are Tuesday, March 3, while the midterm uniform election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 3.

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