Douglas County announced the winners of its 2020 Election Student Art Contest on Friday, a competition held every presidential election to foster political participation.

More than 100 students between the grades of kindergarten and 12th grade submitted original artwork for the contest. Three artists placed in each of the four divisional themes.

“The student artists demonstrate pride in our country, an awareness of the world around them and the challenges we face, as well as optimism for the future,” said Merlin Klotz, Douglas County clerk and recorder.

“We are truly proud to see this level of creativity, awareness and engagement from the young people in our community.”

The four themes were “America the beautiful” (kindergarten to third grade), “What does America mean to you?” (fourth to sixth grade), “Citizenship in my community” (seventh to eighth grade) and “My vote, my voice” (ninth to 12th grade).

The artwork, using traditional and electronic media, was judged by a panel consisting of Klotz, Deputy of Elections Jack Twite and Clerk and Recorder Chief Deputy Codie Winslow.

The first-place winners are:

• America the beautiful: Anirudh Rao, third grade, STEM School Highlands Ranch, “Faces of America”
• What does America mean to you?: Krishanika Paramasivam Vijayalakshmi, fourth grade, STEM School Highlands Ranch, “My American Dream”
• Citizenship in my community: Siddhartha Aradhya, eighth grade, STEM School Highlands Ranch, “What it means to be a good citizen”
• My vote, my voice: Erika Olson, 12th grade, Douglas County High School, “Boosted to the Ballot Box”

The winning artwork will be publicly displayed in the Douglas County Government building and the Douglas County School District building until the next presidential election in 2024.

The complete list of winners is available at douglas.co.us/elections/election-art-contest-winners/.