It’s that time of the year again. The ground is becoming littered with the signs of the season. No, not the autumnal fall of leaves blanketing our wonderful Pacific Northwest landscape: the campaign signs filling the scenic spaces of every roadway.
In 2021 only 38% of Thurston County registered voters delivered their ballots for the election. Perhaps 62% of the population missed the hordes of signs littering every roadway in the county. Has our society tuned out political signs as an effective method of campaigning? Do these eyesores even have an impact on a political campaign?
One candidate this year took a firm stance against yard signs as a political tool. Sarah Morris ran for County Commissioner in District #5. She came up with the concept of a “minimal waste” campaign. The forward-thinking concept wasn’t just focused on saving money but saving environmental waste. Morris said, “Campaigning is so wasteful. I didn’t want my candidacy to contribute to the bloated waste of the campaigning process.” This altruistic sentiment flies in the face of modern campaigning; and Morris finished a distant fourth place in the August primary, knocking her out of contention. But was she wrong?
The majority of modern political signs are made from corrugated plastic. The Thurston County Waste and Recovery Center said the corrugated plastic political signs end up in the trash. So all those branded placards “littering” our roadways end up in a landfill. In our current “climate” of environmental concerns, it’s a wonder the political process is allowed to leave such a wasteful footprint year after year.
Local political consultants and candidates imply the plastic yard signs are a must. It’s tradition. “Campaigns are won by knocking on doors, and distributing a large amount of signs,” that is the common theme of advice you hear from experts on both sides of the political aisle. One local school board candidate spent 25% of their campaign money on yard signs this year. But there is evidence that this traditional form of campaigning might be outdated.
Have voters tuned out these roadside branding mechanisms? According to a 2016 joint university study titled The effects of lawn signs on vote outcomes: Results from four randomized field experiments, the answer is overwhelmingly yes. The study found that political signage boosted a campaign by 1.7% in voting results.
One of the most expensive, and wasteful tools of a political campaign may only increase the vote share by 1.7%. And it’s impossible to study the effects when two opposing campaigns both have signs “littering” the roadways. Common sense would imply that a tiny percentage would diminish to a negligible effect.
Defenders of political campaign signs would state the 1.7% could mean the difference between a win or a loss. Every vote matters, and signage is a big part of the mass marketing of the campaign process. Do you think they factor in a cost-benefit analysis? Perhaps the money spent on one of the more expensive parts of the campaign process could be better spent in other areas.
Perhaps Morris was on to something with her “minimal waste” campaign. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below what you think of the procession of signs in our political process.
Corrugated plastic signs are low-information tools. Click here to watch candidate forums on 17 local races in this election cycle, organized by the League of Women Voters of Thurston County.
Jay Fratt is an Olympia-based writer and entrepreneur. He writes frequently for The JOLT.
The opinions expressed above are those of the writer and not necessarily those of The JOLT's staff or board of directors. Got something to say about a topic of interest to Thurston County residents? Send it to us and we’ll most likely publish it. See the Contribute your news button at the top of every page.
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JulesJames
If only illegally stabbed into the public right-of-way, yard signs are of minimal value to a candidate who is likely going to lose anyways. But a yard sign used properly -- placed in the yard of a well-respected neighborhood leader -- is going to sway some votes. Having a yard sign likely will inspire a supporter to donate and volunteer more. Unfortunately, all the illegal yards signs are perhaps necessary for name recognition and as physical evidence the campaign has visited an area. I'd been super-double-happy if municipalities aggressively removed all illegally posted signage. But such a policy would be fraught with charges of favoritism.
Wednesday, November 1, 2023 Report this
AugieH
"But a yard sign used properly -- placed in the yard of a well-respected neighborhood leader -- is going to sway some votes."
Really? I guess if you're easily led like cattle in a herd. I don't respect anyone so much that I'll follow his/her political lead on voting. But that's just me.
Wednesday, November 1, 2023 Report this
AugieH
Yard political signs are nothing but trash on sticks. Stick 'em on your car's rear bumper, if you must.
Wednesday, November 1, 2023 Report this
pheong
look at Tacoma and their lax attitude towards crappy advertising signs polluting the landscape and you will understand how inured the populace has become to such visual trash. I, myself, make every effort to remove any illegally posted advertisement that I see. My understanding is that political signs fall under different rules and that fines can be levied for those that are not promptly removed post-election. Personally, I would like to see fines levied for ANY business sign posted contrary to city and county rules. Take a picture, take it down, pull it up and send the infraction notice to the business owner. A successful business like Already Moving routinely has someone affixing their gaudy signs to telephone poles. I yank them down and call the office to express my indignation. Never have had a call back.
Join the crusade. Take a minute to stop and remove any advertising signs you see.
"John Buys Houses" had affixed two of his crappy signs on telephone poles up near Garfield school. Having had recently been working in Tacoma and seen his signs utterly defiling the landscape, I called the number, spoke to the jackass and told him that if I saw any more of his signs in Thuston County that I would take some days to remove every sign of his in the Tacoma area. Do you see them proliferating here?
He was shocked that I would pull his signs down! Fork yes I will! I live here and see no reason as to why I should view his trash in my meanderings around the county.
Thursday, November 2, 2023 Report this
Yeti1981
I actually regularly see advertising signs in many similar locations as political signs. If you are going to restrict one, you must restrict the other. Also, you may be wading into a violation of the first amendment. So, signs are a tricky subject, regardless as to what you feel about them.
Thursday, November 2, 2023 Report this
Yeti1981
Also, what Pheong is advocating is absolutely illegal.
Thursday, November 2, 2023 Report this
RobRichards
There was a study conducted a few years ago, in collaboration with a congressional candidate, a mayoral candidate, an independent expenditure campaign directed against a gubernatorial candidate, and a candidate for county commissioner. The results showed that yard signs did prove to increase a campaign's vote total, but not by much. Between 1 and 2 percentage points on average. I'd say if it's really neck and neck it could be worth the investment. If you're comfortable then get a small amount for supporters to put in their yards and for sign waving. If you're the underdog, get a few to start with for high traffic areas and then put your resources into things like direct mail, phone banking, and fundraising.
Personally, I'd love to live in a world without them. Really wasteful (can't be recycled currently so just going in the landfill), not all that effective, and a distraction when candidates get fixated on whether they're seeing more of their own or their opponent's signs. Signs don't vote, people do, so go knock on doors and hit the phones instead.
Thursday, November 2, 2023 Report this
pheong
Well, Yeti, actually no, not illegal. Illegally posted signs are in violation of Thurston County codes. I never remove campaign signs. Off-site business advertising on telephone poles, trees, municipal rights-of-way and other forbidden locations are perfect targets for community action. Would you protest if I removed someone's dog **** from the sidewalk? Illegally placed signs may be removed by whomsoever chooses to apply themselves to the task.
I specifically asked at the PSE office on Pacific as to this. They don't mind if illegal signs are removed from their poles. They don't want to hear about for liability reasons but don't consider it illegal. It's their property being illegally used for signage which is against county code.
If I chose to remove all political signs a few days after an election, I would also be perfectly within my rights. Those signs are REQUIRED to be removed promptly. There are fines which can be levied if they are not.
Would you complain if I picked up trash along roadways? Illegal business signs qualify as such.
In conversations I have had with business owners who continue to ILLEGALLY post their business signs I have found that they simply do not care as there is no official enforcement.
I shall continue my campaign. Despite the occasional perusal of my activity by the occasional passing law enforcement I have never been questioned as to my activity or been told to stop.
I shall continue my campaign.
Thursday, November 2, 2023 Report this
Yeti1981
Pheong, you are advocating for just anyone to remove signs. If you are not code enforcement, it is illegal to remove signs even if they aren't supposed to be there. If you are not the property owner, if on private property, it is not your place either. For political signs, it is true that there is a limited time in which the owner/candidate has to remove the signs after an election, but if you're not the owner of that sign or working for the candidate, it's not your place. You could absolutely be fined. The proper avenue of approach is to simply report them when they are in violation. Point is, if it isn't yours, don't touch it.
Friday, November 3, 2023 Report this
Byrnes4Balance
Last time I ran I focused on large signs on privately owned property on busy roads. Any research on whether large signs have more impact?
Thursday, November 9, 2023 Report this