The craziest ‘I voted’ sticker of the 2024 election: What’s the story behind Michigan’s werewolf?

Election pins and stickers are pretty standard by now, but one individual in Michigan has got tongues’ wagging with their special design.

12-year-old Jane Hynous from Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. She drew the design while watching the movie “National Treasure” during her social studies class. Her artwork was selected as one of nine winning designs in Michigan’s statewide sticker competition, standing out dramatically among more traditional submissions featuring cherry blossoms and waving flags.

The demand for this “unhinged” sticker has been overwhelming. Even before polling stations opened, election officials reported receiving multiple daily inquiries about its availability. The enthusiasm has reached such heights that a single sticker was listed on eBay for $36.

The Michigan Department of State is distributing 4 million of these distinctive stickers to serve the state’s 7.7 million active voters. Local election officials have noted a clear preference for the werewolf design among early voters, with Lansing’s city clerk Chris Swope confirming its popularity.

Wherer does the design come from?

The werewolf sticker’s design draws inspiration from a popular internet meme known as “Wolf Ripping Shirt” or “Werewolf Ripping Shirt.” This meme features artwork of a muscular werewolf dramatically tearing off his shirt while howling at a full moon. The original artwork’s creator remains unknown, but the image gained significant traction on social media platforms in 2022 according to knowyourmeme.com.

The meme first appeared on Twitter and Tiktok in July 2022, when a user posted song lyrics over the werewolf image. It quickly spread to other platforms like Tumblr, where users began adding their own captions and variations to the artwork.