Submitted photo Three Tygarts Valley Middle School students were recently honored for their work in the West Virginia Secretary of State’s ‘I Voted’ Sticker Contest. Pictured with Randolph County Clerk Brenda Wiseman are, from left, Claire Johanns (third place), Alexis Conti (second place) and Addisyn Gragg (first place).

ELKINS — Three Tygarts Valley Middle School students have been honored for their work in the West Virginia Secretary of State’s first-ever “I Voted” Sticker Contest for 2026.

The contest was limited to eighth-graders across the Mountain State, and more than 1,100 students from 42 counties took part. The top finisher in each county had their artwork submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office for a regional competition.

Addisyn Gragg was the overall winner for Randolph County, while Alexis Conti placed second and Claire Johanns third. Gregg’s sticker was submitted to the state.

All three of the students were honored by the Randolph County Commission and Randolph County Clerk Brenda Wiseman at last week’s Commission meeting.

“We received a total of 15 submissions for the contest and 14 of those were from Tygarts Valley Middle School,” Wiseman said. “Out of the 15 me and my staff judged the submissions and picked the top three winners.”

Wiseman said that the contest went very well for it being the first time the state had ever put it on.

“This is the first time they have ever done something like this and we enjoyed it,” Wiseman said. “Whenever we got the submission back, the girls here in my office and some of the other offices judged them, there were 10 of us all together. There were some really good stickers turned in and it was hard to make a decision on the top three because there were some really good ones.”

Wiseman said she believes the contest may be something that continues in the future.

“I would say they will bring this back again next year,” Wiseman said. “I think a lot of people enjoyed it and they are getting a lot of votes on the Secretary of State’s website.”

Four regional competitors are selected to square off and the winner will have their artwork turned into a sticker that will be used in their county during voting season.

For more information on the contest or to place a vote for the top submissions, visit Govotewv.com.