As voters headed to the polls on Election Day, a unique and pointed tactic unfolded in Virginia. Republicans weren’t just encouraging citizens to cast their ballots; they were actively drawing attention to controversies surrounding Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones, utilizing a series of striking stickers.
The Republican Attorneys General Association took the traditional “I voted” sticker and repurposed it, creating five distinct designs. Each sticker aimed to remind voters of specific allegations leveled against Jones, framing them as reasons *not* to support him.
One sticker, depicting Jones as the Monopoly character Uncle Pennybags, declared, “I didn’t vote for the ‘get out of jail free’ guy.” This referenced an ongoing investigation into Jones’ completion of community service hours following a reckless driving arrest.
The details surrounding the community service are murky. While Jones affirmed 1,000 hours, 500 were logged with his own political action committee and another 500 with the state NAACP chapter. Crucially, no time sheets were ever publicly released, and a Freedom of Information Act request yielded no documentation.
Another sticker bluntly stated, “I didn’t vote for the political violence guy,” while a third warned, “I didn’t vote for the two-bullets guy.” These allusions stemmed from a series of disturbing text messages Jones sent regarding a Republican lawmaker.
The texts, sent to a fellow delegate, revealed Jones’ intense anger over what he perceived as a close relationship between the House Speaker and a recently deceased Democratic colleague. His frustration escalated into graphic and violent imagery.
Jones reportedly fantasized about the Republican leader being shot, and extended those dark thoughts to the lawmaker’s family, even expressing a desire to desecrate their graves. The language was deeply disturbing and explicitly threatening.
A fifth sticker directly referenced those chilling texts, featuring the iconic Calvin from the comic strip *Calvin & Hobbes* in a provocative pose. The sticker read, “Disagree with Jay Jones? He’ll piss on your grave,” mirroring a particularly harsh sentiment from Jones’ messages.
The Calvin image itself has a history. The original design was a 1990s bumper sticker that the comic’s creator, Bill Watterson, deemed unauthorized and unlicensed, adding another layer of complexity to its use in this political context.
The Republican strategy was undeniably bold, aiming to leave a lasting impression on voters as they exercised their right to vote. It transformed a symbol of civic participation into a stark reminder of the controversies surrounding a key candidate in the election.
