Pima County Recorder releases ‘I voted’ stickers with Spanish, Tohono O’odham language

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - Pima County’s new early voting sticker will feature three languages, the county announced on Wednesday, July 13.

The sticker reads “I voted!” in English, “A:ñi ‘ant wodalt” in Tohono O’odham and “Yo Voté” in Spanish. The Tohono O’odham language was included to acknowledge that Pima County is within the ancestral homelands of the Tohono O’odham Nation and nearly 42% of the county’s land includes the Tohono O’odham and Pascua Yaqui tribes.

“Pima” is an O’odham word for another tribe, and “Arizona” is derived from the O’odham word “Alṣon,” meaning “place of little springs.”

Tucson is derived from the O’odham phrase “S-cuk ṣon,” or “base of the black mountain.”

Members of the Tohono O’odham Nation live throughout the county, particularly in Ajo, Three Points, South Tucson and Tucson.

More than 32% of Pima County residents are Hispanic or Latino, according to 2020 U.S. census data, which is why Spanish was included. While English is the county’s most common language, more than 26% of residents speak another language at home.

The Pima County Recorder’s Officer also plans to release the sticker in the Yoeme or Yaqui language.

Recorder Gabriella Cázares-Kelly is a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation and the first Native American to hold a countywide elected office in Pima County.

The stickers were designed by Jenni Pagano of Riveted and translated into Tohono O’odham by Tohono O’odham language instructor Jose “Husi” Cázares.

County officials say the “I voted” sticker is an important part of the voting experience, and allows voters to display their pride in exercising a constitutional right.

Voters are encouraged to wear their stickers on any one of the 27 days of official early Voting and on Tuesday, Aug. 2, which is election day.

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