{"id":12502,"date":"2024-04-07T15:02:59","date_gmt":"2024-04-07T21:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.signs.com\/blog\/?p=12502"},"modified":"2024-09-11T00:00:58","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T06:00:58","slug":"do-political-signs-work-running-an-effective-legal-sign-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.signs.com\/blog\/do-political-signs-work-running-an-effective-legal-sign-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Political Signs Work? The Pros and Cons of Running a Political Sign Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
As this year\u2019s national elections approach, you can expect to see more yards and lawns decked with political campaign signs\u2013 that is, if you haven\u2019t yet. As soon as the campaign period rolls in, campaign strategists and supporters design and print political signs to push their candidate\u2019s agenda or to promote their advocacy. But inquiring minds (not to mention political candidates, campaign strategists, and voters) want to know: do political yard signs really work? Do they convert casual sign observers into bona fide voters? In this article, we explain what exactly political signs\u202fdo\u202f<\/em>and\u202fdon\u2019t do<\/em>. Overall, we make the case that whether you\u2019re running for school board or the Senate,\u202fcampaign signs<\/a>\u202fwill be a valuable part of your overall election strategy.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n <\/p>\r\n Are campaign signs a sure-fire way to convert a disinterested or opposing citizen into a legitimate supporter? Probably not. Even though signs may not be the most important factor influencing individual voting decisions, they can still have a powerful effect on a candidate\u2019s political fate. In close races (especially those that are not salient to the voting public), signs can have a profound impact on election outcomes.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As this year\u2019s national elections approach, you can expect to see more yards and lawns decked with political campaign signs\u2013 that is, if you haven\u2019t yet. As soon as the campaign period rolls in, campaign strategists and supporters design and print political signs to push their candidate\u2019s agenda or to promote their advocacy. But inquiring […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12947,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[603,564],"tags":[605,604,607,606],"class_list":["post-12502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","category-signage-101","tag-campaign-signs","tag-campaigns","tag-elections","tag-political-signs"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhen Political Signs Work: The Advantages of Using Political Campaign Signs\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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In politics, recognition is the name of the game. As prominent political scientist David Mayhew once said, \u201cTo be perceived at all is to be perceived favorably.\u201d One of the main tasks for any political candidate is to ensure that their name becomes familiar to the prospective voters. An effective way to increase political visibility is to display many campaign signs, and there is scientific evidence supporting this strategy.
In the \u201cBen Griffin\u201d experiment<\/a>, Vanderbilt University professor Cindy Kam planted campaign signs for fictitious candidate Ben Griffin in high traffic areas around a school. A few days later, they conducted a survey via the school\u2019s Parent Teacher Association asking participants to list their preferred council candidates \u2014 the fictitious Ben Griffin was listed along with real candidates and another made-up person. All to say, the consistent exposure to campaign signs established name recognition among the participants and influenced them to vote for the person whose name appeared on the said sign.
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Another way that political signs can improve a candidate\u2019s electoral prospects is by reminding supporters to vote. Although signs are unlikely to change a voter\u2019s mind about a particular candidate, they may help remind people who already like the politician to vote on Election Day if used strategically.\u00a0
Political scientist Costa Panagopoulos tested whether campaign signs would actually increase voter turnout by studying the 2005 municipal elections in New York City. After identifying 14 election districts whose historical voter turnout was nearly identical, Panagopoulos strategically stationed sign-toting volunteers at busy intersections in seven randomly selected districts with large white signs that stated \u201cVote Tomorrow\u201d in blue letters.\u00a0\u00a0
In the actual election, the voter turnout in the seven districts where volunteers held signs (the \u201ctreatment\u201d group) was 3.6% higher than the turnout in the districts where signs were not displayed (the \u201ccontrol\u201d group). While this difference may seem trivial, a 3% increase in the vote percentage can have a huge impact on a close election. Moreover, this increase in turnout seems to be comparable to the results of other \u201cget out the vote\u201d techniques such as door-to-door contacting, phone calls, and direct mail, which often require significantly more resources (time, money, and manpower) than does signage.\u00a0
As the research summarized above illustrates, campaign signage can have a meaningful effect on voter turnout. Candidates who use signs strategically may be able to target the people who are inclined to vote for them, perhaps by placing signs in areas where supporters are highly concentrated.\u00a0
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Classic studies in political science (see, for example, Voting by Berelson, Lazarsfeld, and McPhee, 1954) have found that a person\u2019s family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers can have a strong impact on who they vote for. Political signage may help reinforce these powerful social forces by serving as voting cues. In other words, signs can spread political information between two people even if a political discussion never takes place.\u00a0
Take this for example. Imagine that two neighbors, Tim and Wilson, are good friends who talk about most everything \u2014 except politics. When Wilson places a political sign in his yard for Jill Taylor, a local school board candidate, Tim notices the sign on his way to and from work but doesn\u2019t think much about it. When the election arrives, Tim goes to the polls to vote for a friend running for city council. After voting for his friend, Tim comes to the portion of the ballot that asks about the school board vote. Although he is not familiar with any of the candidates, Tim remembers that his friend Wilson supports Jill Taylor. While his personal knowledge is limited, Tim knows that he trusts Wilson, so he votes for Jill.\u00a0
Just as in this scenario, voters use \u201cinformation shortcuts\u201d to make ballot decisions all the time. While campaign signs may not inspire instant confidence in a candidate per se, they can help uninformed voters connect a candidate\u2019s name to friends or family members that they trust. In this way, candidates can use signage to tap personal networks that are powerful sources of vote motivation.\u00a0
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Campaign signs<\/a> can also provide supporters with a way to express themselves politically, allowing them to voice their opinions and feel connected to a candidate. Political scientists Todd Makse and Anand Sokhey argue that \u201cYard signs<\/a> constitute an important, symbolic aspect of what we might call an ordinary individual\u2019s \u201ctotal campaign experience.\u201d In other words, posting signs can be a form of political participation in and of itself.
Signs can also provide campaign volunteers with a way to openly show their friends and neighbors the candidate that they support. In a way, signs can function as a symbol of the volunteer\u2019s hours of hard work for the campaign. Moreover, sign drives give campaign faithful the opportunity to have tangible evidence of their dedication to the cause; whenever they see a sign-lined street, they will feel they have accomplished something important. Candidates who want their supporters to feel they are truly involved in the campaign and are able to fully express their political voices should incorporate political signs into their overall election strategy. As Maske and Sokhey observe, \u201cCampaign professionals may debate the power of yard signs as a mobilization tool, but . . . these signs are anything but trivial to the individuals who display them.\u201d
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Ironically, campaign signs tend to be used most when they are least effective \u2014 presidential elections. Since presidential races are extremely visible to the public eye, nearly everyone who is going to vote has relatively defined opinions about the candidates involved. Because of this, campaign signs are unlikely to have a major impact. As behavioral psychologist Mark Sibicky notes in a recent interview, \u201cSigns do little to change anyone\u2019s mind that is already made up.\u201d At the same time, signs can be important for elections where candidates are relatively unknown. Candidates for municipal offices such as school board, sheriff, city council, mayor, and judgeships are often relatively unknown, so the added name recognition generated by political signage is invaluable.
Additionally, because municipal offices in many localities omit partisan labels from the ballot, voters who are unable to decide based solely on the political party may turn to the candidates whose names they are most familiar with. Politicians running for lesser-known state offices such as state auditor, treasurer, and even attorney general can also benefit from the increased notoriety that signs provide.
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The technology to design and produce campaign signs has grown directly proportional to the demands of election season. As digital printing gets better every day, it\u2019s become easier and faster to create plenty of signs in a short amount of time. The variety of signs has expanded too \u2014 from the classic yard sign that you can easily stick to the ground, printing companies now offer an assortment of banners<\/a> (vinyl, fabric, and mesh), car decals<\/a>, stickers<\/a>, magnets<\/a>, and foam board<\/a> signs \u2014 and they come with different easy setup options. These sign types have also become relatively easy to create, with printers offering online design tools and free sign templates customers can use, making it more accessible to supporters regardless of design skill level. Above all, campaign signs are an affordable means of showing support whether it\u2019s a candidate you\u2019re campaigning for or you\u2019re a part of an organization that pushes the advocacy of voting.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWhen Political Signs Don\u2019t Work: The Limitations of Political Campaign Signs<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Putting up signs in your lawn is one thing, but unless you go to the polling precinct and actually vote, it can be hard to tell whether the political sign is successful at bringing the votes in. Indeed, some studies show that signs may simply be an indicator of existing support rather than a tool for converting voters from one candidate to another. Another possibility is that voters are simply more expressive than other people. One study suggests that whether a person displays a sign for the local university football team predicts voting just as well as whether they display a political sign.
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It\u2019s not uncommon for well-funded political campaigns to deploy plenty of signages throughout the election period. However, campaign signs are unlikely to be the main factor determining how a person will vote. In other words, deep-pocketed candidates who pepper their districts with signs will not necessarily win an election unless their campaign message aligns with constituent priorities. Things like political party, ideology, education, family influence, and personal contact with candidates are much more likely to affect vote choice.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n