Zohran Mamdani's sticker contest is the perfect kind of political engagement bait

"On September 25, Mamdani's campaign announced through an Instagram video that it would be hosting a sticker design contest to get New Yorkers registered to vote before the October 25 deadline. The competition gave followers just 36 hours to submit their designs, during which hundreds of pieces of art flooded the campaigns' submission portal. Now that a winner has been selected, anyone who is registered can submit a form on Mamdani's website and pick up the sticker at one of Mamdani's canvases or volunteer events."

"Mamdani's campaign took a page out of other regions' playbooks through the sticker design contest, which, in recent years, have proven to be both effective fodder for social media discussion and a real avenue to boost voter engagement. It's part of his larger goal to get more New Yorkers, and especially young people, registered to vote-a mission that, so far, has yielded impressive results."

"Mamdani, a democratic socialist, has run his campaign with an internet-savvy eye for design. In the election run-up, he masterfully shot candid short-form video content to reach young voters and establish himself as an authentic candidate for the people. His campaign posters balanced a hand-drawn quality with a healthy sprinkling of nostalgia, presenting Mamdani as less corporate and more down-to-earth than his rivals. These aesthetic choices helped pave the way for him to defeat Andrew Cuomo in the primaries."

Zohran Mamdani's New York City mayoral campaign held a sticker design contest that drew more than 450 artist submissions and gave entrants 36 hours to submit. The contest aimed to register New Yorkers to vote before the October 25 deadline, with the winning sticker available for pickup at campaign canvases and volunteer events for registered voters who submit a form. The approach follows similar contests elsewhere that have driven social media engagement and voter turnout. Mamdani employed internet-savvy design and short-form video to reach young voters, using nostalgic, hand-drawn aesthetics to present a less corporate image. Those tactics helped him defeat Andrew Cuomo in the primaries and boosted registration efforts.

Read at Fast Company