Pima County’s new Early Voting Sticker is tri-lingual! The sticker reads “I voted” in English, “A:ñi ‘ant wodalt” in Tohono O’odham and “Yo Voté” in Spanish. Most Pima County voters will be unfamiliar with the Tohono O’odham language. It was included to acknowledge that Pima County’s boundaries sit within the ancestral homelands of the Tohono O’odham Nation. Nearly 42% of Pima County’s land mass is designated as Tribal Lands and includes the Tohono O’odham Nation and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.

Tohono O’odham language has had a significant impact in Pima County and throughout the state. “Pima” is an O’odham word for another Tribe, and “Arizona” is derived from the O’odham word “Alṣon,” which means “place of little springs.” “Tucson” is based on the O’odham phrase “S-cuk ṣon,” meaning “base of the black mountain.” Members of the Tohono O’odham Nation live throughout Pima County, with concentrations living in Ajo, Three Points, South Tucson and Tucson.

Spanish was included to acknowledge that more than 32% of Pima County residents are considered Hispanic or Latino, according to 2020 US Census Data. English is the most common language in Pima County, though more than 26% of residents speak another language at home. The Pima County Recorder’s Office plans to release other versions of the sticker than include the Yoeme or Yaqui language.

Before 2021, the Pima County Recorder’s Office included only the English “I Voted Early” stickers in ballot-by-mail packets. Stickers in Tohono O’odham and Spanish were only available during in-person Early Voting. Recorder Gabriella Cázares-Kelly, a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation and the first Native American to hold a countywide elected office in Pima County, decided to feature all three languages on one sticker.
The stickers were designed by graphics designer, Jenni Pagano of Riveted and translated into Tohono O’odham by Jose “Husi” Cázares, a Tohono O’odham language instructor.

An “I Voted” sticker is an important part of the voting experience. It allows voters to display their pride in exercising a fundamental, constitutional right and deepens a sense of community while promoting voting culture. Displaying an “I Voted” sticker in public and/or on social media reminds and encourages everyone who sees it to participate in our democracy. Voters are encouraged to wear their stickers on any one of the 27 days of official Early Voting and on Election Day, Tuesday, August 2, 2022.

These stickers are exclusively available for Early Voters who cast an Early Ballot via mail or in person at any of the Recorder’s 15 Early Voting Sites. Those who vote in person on Election Day will receive the standard oval “I Voted” sticker.