diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
index dbfc8ef0..9a5be4cd 100644
--- a/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -290,6 +290,14 @@ def assert_share_copies(page, expected_fragment):
         )
 
 
+def vote_glyph(locator):
+    value = locator.evaluate("el => getComputedStyle(el, '::before').content")
+    value = value.strip().strip('"').strip("'")
+    if value.startswith("\\") and len(value) == 5 and value[1:].isdigit():
+        value = chr(int(value[1:], 16))
+    return value
+
+
 def assert_no_horizontal_overflow(page, layout):
     report = page.evaluate(
         """(selector) => {
diff --git a/tests/e2e/leaderboard.py b/tests/e2e/leaderboard.py
index b7c4499f..0633cdca 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/leaderboard.py
+++ b/tests/e2e/leaderboard.py
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ def test_leaderboard_ranks_after_upvote(app_server, browser, seeded_db):
 
         pa.goto(post_url, wait_until="domcontentloaded")
         pa.wait_for_timeout(1000)
-        vote_btn = pa.locator("button.post-action-btn").filter(has_text="+").first
+        vote_btn = pa.locator("button.post-action-btn.vote-up").first
         vote_btn.wait_for(state="visible", timeout=10000)
         vote_btn.click()
         pa.wait_for_timeout(1500)
diff --git a/tests/e2e/notifications/index.py b/tests/e2e/notifications/index.py
index 9634ba38..e24834fa 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/notifications/index.py
+++ b/tests/e2e/notifications/index.py
@@ -310,7 +310,7 @@ def test_vote_notification_on_post(app_server, browser, seeded_db):
 
     pa.goto(post_url, wait_until="domcontentloaded")
     pa.wait_for_timeout(1000)
-    vote_btn = pa.locator("button.post-action-btn").filter(has_text="+").first
+    vote_btn = pa.locator("button.post-action-btn.vote-up").first
     vote_btn.wait_for(state="visible", timeout=10000)
     vote_btn.click()
     pa.wait_for_timeout(1500)
@@ -796,7 +796,7 @@ def test_vote_notification_click_opens_target(app_server, browser, seeded_db):
 
     pa.goto(f"{BASE_URL}{post_path}", wait_until="domcontentloaded")
     pa.wait_for_timeout(1000)
-    vote_btn = pa.locator("button.post-action-btn").filter(has_text="+").first
+    vote_btn = pa.locator("button.post-action-btn.vote-up").first
     vote_btn.wait_for(state="visible", timeout=10000)
     vote_btn.click()
     pa.wait_for_timeout(1500)
diff --git a/tests/e2e/post.py b/tests/e2e/post.py
index cc1747ff..4729f598 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/post.py
+++ b/tests/e2e/post.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 import re
 from playwright.sync_api import expect
-from tests.conftest import BASE_URL, assert_share_copies
+from tests.conftest import BASE_URL, assert_share_copies, vote_glyph
 def create_post(page, topic="random", content="Test post content", title=None):
     page.goto(f"{BASE_URL}/feed", wait_until="domcontentloaded")
     page.locator(".feed-fab").first.wait_for(state="visible", timeout=10000)
@@ -74,35 +74,57 @@ def test_post_vote_increment(alice):
 def test_post_upvote_voted_state_persists(alice):
     page, _ = alice
     create_post(page, "showcase", "Upvote persistence test")
+    vote_up = page.locator(".post-action-btn.vote-up").first
+    assert vote_glyph(vote_up) == "+"
     with page.expect_response(
         lambda r: "/votes/" in r.url and r.request.method == "POST"
     ):
-        page.locator(".post-action-btn.vote-up").first.click()
+        vote_up.click()
     expect(page.locator(".post-vote-count").first).to_have_text("1")
+    expect(vote_up).to_have_class(re.compile(r"\bvoted\b"))
+    assert vote_glyph(vote_up) == "\u2295"
     page.reload(wait_until="domcontentloaded")
-    expect(page.locator(".post-action-btn.vote-up").first).to_have_class(
-        re.compile(r"\bvoted\b")
-    )
-    assert "voted" not in (
-        page.locator(".post-action-btn.vote-down").first.get_attribute("class") or ""
-    )
+    vote_up = page.locator(".post-action-btn.vote-up").first
+    expect(vote_up).to_have_class(re.compile(r"\bvoted\b"))
+    assert vote_glyph(vote_up) == "\u2295"
+    vote_down = page.locator(".post-action-btn.vote-down").first
+    assert "voted" not in (vote_down.get_attribute("class") or "")
+    assert vote_glyph(vote_down) == "\u2212"
+    with page.expect_response(
+        lambda r: "/votes/" in r.url and r.request.method == "POST"
+    ):
+        vote_up.click()
+    expect(page.locator(".post-vote-count").first).to_have_text("0")
+    expect(vote_up).not_to_have_class(re.compile(r"\bvoted\b"))
+    assert vote_glyph(vote_up) == "+"
 
 
 def test_post_downvote_voted_state_persists(alice):
     page, _ = alice
     create_post(page, "showcase", "Downvote persistence test")
+    vote_down = page.locator(".post-action-btn.vote-down").first
+    assert vote_glyph(vote_down) == "\u2212"
     with page.expect_response(
         lambda r: "/votes/" in r.url and r.request.method == "POST"
     ):
-        page.locator(".post-action-btn.vote-down").first.click()
+        vote_down.click()
     expect(page.locator(".post-vote-count").first).to_have_text("-1")
+    expect(vote_down).to_have_class(re.compile(r"\bvoted\b"))
+    assert vote_glyph(vote_down) == "\u2296"
     page.reload(wait_until="domcontentloaded")
-    expect(page.locator(".post-action-btn.vote-down").first).to_have_class(
-        re.compile(r"\bvoted\b")
-    )
-    assert "voted" not in (
-        page.locator(".post-action-btn.vote-up").first.get_attribute("class") or ""
-    )
+    vote_down = page.locator(".post-action-btn.vote-down").first
+    expect(vote_down).to_have_class(re.compile(r"\bvoted\b"))
+    assert vote_glyph(vote_down) == "\u2296"
+    vote_up = page.locator(".post-action-btn.vote-up").first
+    assert "voted" not in (vote_up.get_attribute("class") or "")
+    assert vote_glyph(vote_up) == "+"
+    with page.expect_response(
+        lambda r: "/votes/" in r.url and r.request.method == "POST"
+    ):
+        vote_down.click()
+    expect(page.locator(".post-vote-count").first).to_have_text("0")
+    expect(vote_down).not_to_have_class(re.compile(r"\bvoted\b"))
+    assert vote_glyph(vote_down) == "\u2212"
 
 
 def test_comment_voted_state_persists(alice):
@@ -114,14 +136,25 @@ def test_comment_voted_state_persists(alice):
     expect(
         page.locator(".comment-text:has-text('Comment whose vote should persist')")
     ).to_be_visible()
-    page.locator(".comment-vote-btn").first.click()
-    expect(page.locator(".comment-vote-btn").first).to_have_class(
-        re.compile(r"\bvoted\b")
-    )
+    comment_vote = page.locator(".comment-vote-btn.vote-up").first
+    assert vote_glyph(comment_vote) == "+"
+    with page.expect_response(
+        lambda r: "/votes/" in r.url and r.request.method == "POST"
+    ):
+        comment_vote.click()
+    expect(comment_vote).to_have_class(re.compile(r"\bvoted\b"))
+    assert vote_glyph(comment_vote) == "\u2295"
     page.reload(wait_until="domcontentloaded")
-    expect(page.locator(".comment-vote-btn").first).to_have_class(
-        re.compile(r"\bvoted\b")
-    )
+    comment_vote = page.locator(".comment-vote-btn.vote-up").first
+    expect(comment_vote).to_have_class(re.compile(r"\bvoted\b"))
+    assert vote_glyph(comment_vote) == "\u2295"
+    with page.expect_response(
+        lambda r: "/votes/" in r.url and r.request.method == "POST"
+    ):
+        comment_vote.click()
+    expect(page.locator(".comment-vote-count").first).to_have_text("0")
+    expect(comment_vote).not_to_have_class(re.compile(r"\bvoted\b"))
+    assert vote_glyph(comment_vote) == "+"
 
 
 def test_mention_first_match_highlighted(alice):
diff --git a/tests/e2e/posts/index.py b/tests/e2e/posts/index.py
index 17a03294..c0e053ef 100644
--- a/tests/e2e/posts/index.py
+++ b/tests/e2e/posts/index.py
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ def _create_plain_post_engagement_ui(page, content):
     page.wait_for_url(f"{BASE_URL}/posts/*", wait_until="domcontentloaded")
 from uuid import uuid4
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
-from tests.conftest import BASE_URL, assert_share_copies
+from tests.conftest import BASE_URL, assert_share_copies, vote_glyph
 from devplacepy.database import get_table
 from devplacepy.utils import make_combined_slug
 def _seed_posts(count):
@@ -404,15 +404,19 @@ def test_feed_vote_voted_state_persists(alice):
     card = page.locator(
         ".post-card", has_text="Feed vote persistence test content"
     ).first
-    card.locator(".post-action-btn.vote-up").click()
+    vote_up = card.locator(".post-action-btn.vote-up")
+    assert vote_glyph(vote_up) == "+"
+    vote_up.click()
     expect(card.locator(".post-vote-count")).to_have_text("1")
+    expect(vote_up).to_have_class(re.compile(r"\bvoted\b"))
+    assert vote_glyph(vote_up) == "\u2295"
     page.goto(f"{BASE_URL}/feed", wait_until="domcontentloaded")
     card = page.locator(
         ".post-card", has_text="Feed vote persistence test content"
     ).first
-    expect(card.locator(".post-action-btn.vote-up")).to_have_class(
-        re.compile(r"\bvoted\b")
-    )
+    vote_up = card.locator(".post-action-btn.vote-up")
+    expect(vote_up).to_have_class(re.compile(r"\bvoted\b"))
+    assert vote_glyph(vote_up) == "\u2295"
 
 
 def test_feed_card_share_button(alice):