PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Some Pittsburgh polling stations on Tuesday handed out voting stickers that reflected the mood of a grieving and healing city.
Polling places near Tree of Life synagogue, where a gunman killed 11 Jews on October 27 in the worst anti-Semitic attack in US history, distributed the now familiar “Stronger Than Hate” stickers featuring a modified version of the Steelers logo, according to Jeanne Clark, chair of the Shadyside Democratic Committee, who said she came up with the idea.
On the sticker, the yellow star is substituted with the Jewish Star of David.
“Obviously we’ve been having a tough time here in Pittsburgh,” Clark told CNN Tuesday evening. “I’ve been trying to figure out how we can support one another.”
Her answer: Voting stickers honoring the massacre victims. A friend handled the design, she said. Some 15,000 were printed.
“People seem to love them,” she said.
At some polling locations, the stickers were gone before noon.
“I needed to do something,” Clark said. ” When horrible, horrible things happen, taking an action can make you feel better … It’s a wonderful way to help deal with all of our grief.”
Voters got the stickers at polling sites in and near the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, the center of Jewish life in Pittsburgh.
The modified logo has become a symbol for many Pittsburgh residents.
On Sunday, the Steelers paid tribute to the Tree of Life synagogue shooting victims with custom-made cleats bearing the modified logo.
Nearly 100 members of the Steelers organization attended the funeral of two of the victims last week, including president Art Rooney II and head coach Mike Tomlin.
The logo has made its way around the internet since the tragedy, and Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto made it his Twitter profile picture.
