NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Voting by mail is supposed to be safer and more convenient than going in person, but it does mean that one part of the voting experience may be gone this year.
Now, one man is on a mission to make sure voters can still get their hands on "I voted" stickers.
Greg Sarafan said he went to vote in Jersey City a few years back and was disappointed that his polling site didn't have any of the stickers.
"I suffered through about four years with no stickers until I finally went and I bought a roll of 500," he said. "An 'I voted' sticker is just a symbol of civic duty."
With more than enough for himself, he started giving them away on Twitter.
"I realized I had a whole roll with nothing to do with them," Sarafan said.
With more people turning to mail-in voting this year amid the pandemic, Sarafan is making sure than anyone who wants to show off their civic pride can still do so.
He has vowed that anyone, from anywhere, who messages him on Twitter will get an "I voted" sticker. As Election Day draws near, Sarafan said he's hearing from more and more people who haven't gotten the full voting experience this year.
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"It's a lot of people discovering that for the first time ever they're not getting a sticker and people are kind of disappointed," he tells WCBS 880's Steve Burns.
Sarafan said he's sending out about 70 a day.
"It's been increasingly hectic," Sarafan said. "They're going everywhere from Hawaii to I think I have one going to Denmark."
The printing and postage have started to add up, so Sarafan has started a GoFundMe page. He's also stocked up on more stickers to meet the demand.
"I have about 5,000 stickers right now. So unless things pick up crazy dramatically i think I should be good for a little bit," Sarafan said.
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To request a sticker, visit the Twitter handle @VoterSticker.
"It's a way of showing those around you what your priorities are, that you prioritize civic engagement," says Sarafan.
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