Vote For The Candidate On This Sign

October 8, 2008 1:46 PM

Have campaign yard signs ever convinced you to vote for - or against - any particular candidate?

Prompted by this question, I'm curious about why people put the signs out. Do such signs serve only as "vanity plates," proud political statements -- or do people place them in their yards sincerely believing that they might/will convince someone to vote for said candidate?

posted by davidmsc to law & government (49 comments total)

I shiver when I pass our neighbors "Another Family For McCain" yard sign. In the neighborhood this family is the least liked. Although I'm not voting for McCain, its a negative point in our neighborhood to have this family represent him.
posted by bleucube at 1:56 PM on October 8, 2008

No. I think a lot of people put them out primarily to annoy their neighbors that are supporting another candidate.

It's like the people handing out campaign literature 101 feet in front of the polling place. If you are swayed in the parking lot of the polling place you really shouldn't be allowed to vote :)
posted by COD at 1:58 PM on October 8, 2008

I doubt they'd convince anyone to change their vote, but maybe they just serve as a reminder to get out and vote at all?
posted by nat at 1:58 PM on October 8, 2008

As a blue family in a red neighborhood we have signs to (a) be contrary and (b) let any others out there in the darkness know that they are not alone.
posted by JoanArkham at 1:59 PM on October 8, 2008 [13 favorites]

The only thing they've ever done was repel me from certain candidates. But then, I was already leaning against those same candidates.

...which I guess means that all they've ever done for me was reaffirm my existing bias.
posted by aramaic at 1:59 PM on October 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

No, yard signs have never convinced me to vote for (or against) anyone in particular, but they've definitely given me reason to think differently about people I "thought I knew" (e.g. seeing signs for rabidly right-wing candidates in the yards of people I previously thought were rational).
posted by amyms at 2:00 PM on October 8, 2008

Honestly, for national elections they do seem rather pointless. More of a barometer for opinion than anything else.
However, in a local election where having the voter even know your name is a major advantage, yard signs are essential.
posted by cimbrog at 2:00 PM on October 8, 2008 [5 favorites]

I've never been persuaded by them. But they can serve as an informal way to gauge support for a candidate in a particular area. And they can occasionally add a vote or some extra manpower -- a canvasser will be sure to stop by houses endorsing their candidate, to ask the resident to volunteer themselves.

Also, FiveThirtyEight has a decent write-up on the role yard signs play in the campaign -- despite their utility, campaign workers loathe them.
posted by Rhaomi at 2:00 PM on October 8, 2008

My perception is that they don't convince anyone, but that if a candidate failed to supply them his/her supporters would feel let down and might not be motivated to assist in getting out the vote, rallying the faithful, and other activities which might have a real and perhaps decisive marginal effect on the vote.
posted by Phanx at 2:02 PM on October 8, 2008

They don't convince anyone. What they are effective at is:

a) repeating the Candidate's name and/or slogan (no such thing as bad publicity as long as they spell your name right, or so I've heard)

b) reinforcing the personal connection the owner of the lawn sign has with the candidate and ensuring they follow through by actually casting a vote come election day.
posted by arnicae at 2:10 PM on October 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

Agreed with cimbrog that they help local candidates just get their names out there, at least. For many local positions, there are voters that will cast a vote for "the name they recognize", because you know, that person must be good if we've heard of him/her!

My thought is that they're mainly a statement. Not some deep political statement, but like, a bumper sticker. It's a statement, or a show, of support. That's all.
posted by iguanapolitico at 2:12 PM on October 8, 2008

No, no one has ever been convinced just by seeing a sign, but lawn signs do a few other things.

They provide name recognition - they prevent people from saying, "I don't even know who the X party candidate is in my riding/district." The first step to wanting to vote for someone is often knowing who they are (I say often because sometime you might vote for someone based purely on party affiliation).

They prevent people from thinking that a party they might vote for is a lost cause in their area, so there's no point, or that it would make them a social outcast. If all you see are McCain signs everywhere you go, you're less likely to vote for Obama, because you don't see any evidence of anyone else supporting Obama.

It provides a little psychological boost to those who do support the candidate - you get reinforced in your desire to help them out when you see that other people support them.

It gets people thinking about that candidate - where have I seen him in the news, what does he stand for, etc.? It's low-cost publicity. You always want people to be thinking of you as a candidate (well, not if you're in the middle of a scandal I suppose, but you see my point), and you want people, who are busy thinking about other things in their lives, not to forget that you exist.
posted by Dasein at 2:19 PM on October 8, 2008

For local elections, they sometimes remind me to do my research on local races. If I see a yard that has McCain for President, Chambliss for Senate, and John Doe for Obscure Local Office, I'll probably think less kindly of John Doe though that may be unfair (but I'll still do my homework)
posted by pointystick at 2:19 PM on October 8, 2008

I've decided on my presidential candidate way before I figured out my local candidates positions. So, when I drove past these two Obama houses, and I saw the signs for all the other local candidates next to the Obama signs, it did remind me to go and find out about them.

There's been very little local coverage or ads running yet, so those yard signs were really my first exposure to the candidates' names.
posted by gladly at 2:22 PM on October 8, 2008

I personally haven't been affected by them - but I also haven't been convinced by a lot of other advertising out there (I don't have a car with a low low interest rate or hire purchase agreements on my fridge, for example). I suspect anecdote garnered from MeFi won't be especially representitive.

I will note that I have been put off some businesses that sport political branding, depending on the candidate (it's election year in NZ, and one of the candidates for local MP has a viciously homophobic bent. I guess businesses supporting him don't need my money...)
posted by rodgerd at 2:23 PM on October 8, 2008

In a national election, it's the same as a bumper sticker. It's an opportunity for a person to publicly declare their support for a candidate, which reinforces the relationship as a "constituent." And it makes one feels good about doing something for their candidate. I doubt anyone really thinks they'll convince anyone else.
posted by Brittanie at 2:27 PM on October 8, 2008

I've never been convinced either way by a yard sign. I don't have one because I'd rather not broadcast decision in such a way.

I do, however, have that really popular illustration of Obama as my phone's front/mini dispaly's background. I think its a bit more subtle, and it makes me happy whenever I check to see what the time is.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 2:28 PM on October 8, 2008

I think you will find a lot of people on the internet saying "no, yard signs certainly don't influence me". But you'll also find a lot of people saying "attack ads only turn me against the candidate behind them" and "I have never voted for a candidate who robo-called me".

On the other hand politicians obviously use attack ads and robo calling, and they wouldn't do that if they weren't effective.

I guess what I'm saying is the self-reported views of a biased sample on the internet might produce different results to the data sources used by actual campaign managers to make their decisions.
posted by Mike1024 at 2:37 PM on October 8, 2008 [2 favorites]

Some people must think they're effective. My McCain sign has been stolen out of my yard three times in the past week.
posted by unclejeffy at 2:38 PM on October 8, 2008

It is a marketing tool. Just get your name out there over and over. Believe it or not, there are folks who go into the booth not knowing and may just subliminally be persuaded. Just as some look at the neighborhood fool and would never be pursuaded, there are people who look at the neighborhood leader and consideer that they know something and will vote for that person.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 2:40 PM on October 8, 2008

Actually, yes! This very election. Not on a presidential candidate, but on a ballot measure. I have no idea what the actual measure is about, but I know that many business and organizations that I affiliate with are for this particular measure, and that's good enough for me.
posted by ericc at 2:43 PM on October 8, 2008

At a local level, yes. If I go by the home of neighbors who I know to be smart and politically involved, and they have yard signs for a councilmember or school-board member, I'll look at that candidate more favorably. I have probably cast one or two votes for candidates I haven't researched beyond noting "Oh, well, Ann has a yard sign for this candidate, he must be OK."

FWIW, for most of my adult life, I've in blue parts of a blue town in a red state. My neighborhood is almost monolithic in its support for Obama (during the primaries, yard signs were probably 4:1 Obama:Hillary; now it's wall-to-wall Obama). Today, there are a few Ron Paul signs still dotting the landscape, and there's one cranky guy with a small McCain bumper-sticker to go with the anti-Hillary bumper stickers his truck still sports.

In the 2000 election, there were more Nader yard signs in my neighborhood than Gore yard signs.
posted by adamrice at 2:47 PM on October 8, 2008

In 2004 there was an independent candidate for the 1st district house seat by the name of Dexter Kamilewicz. He had local artists create large (like 3 x 5 foot) signs for him that were put up at strategic intersections. Although he didn't do well, the signs certainly served to highten his name recognition at the beginning of his campaign.

So, yeah, valuable in local campaigns.
posted by anastasiav at 2:53 PM on October 8, 2008

Changing minds, no, but the Reinforcement, repetition, and recognition is great to see. The Obama signs out in full force almost a month before the McCain signs, no I'd say my area is about 60/40 for Obama. I'm in the 30% of core supporters so there is no changing my mind, beyond my candidate eating kittens on TV, etc.
posted by limited slip at 2:54 PM on October 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

I had that occur for me this morning on the way to work. I was listening to an interview with a local candidate and happened to see a sign for him in a yard and could more easily connect his statements to that of his party affiliates. It definately colored my view of his candidacy. It was an 'A-ha' moment for me.
posted by mightshould at 2:55 PM on October 8, 2008

Being blue in a red state, we have bumper magnets and (we hope soon) a yard sign because, as said above, we hope to be a light in the dark to others in our area who think they're the only ones who support (in this case) Obama.
posted by Medieval Maven at 3:16 PM on October 8, 2008

I am registered in a tiny county in Nevada. I now go to school a half hour away and haven't spent a lot of time back home lately. Although I am familiar with most of the candidates personally, for the more obscure offices, I have looked at the yard signs of former neighbors who I respect and generally agree with as a guide to who I should be voting for.

They also have notified me of the candidacy of people whom I have qualms with, and I will go out of my way to vote for the other candidate in the race.
posted by clearly at 3:18 PM on October 8, 2008

I could imagine a situation where a very undecided or unaware citizen would see a candidate sign in the yard of someone he or she respects and would have their vote influenced that way.

It seems that's why they're an asset in local elections, where most people are unaware of the candidates/their issues. Not as many people are not too aware of Obama and McCain, of course, but some are.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 3:26 PM on October 8, 2008

Actually, lots of people like to be on the winning team. At the least they like not to be on the losing side. If one side has very visible support and the other side none, that will bias these electorally essential morons. It also probably helps solidify neighborhoods.

Many people don't like to think. If asked, they won't say "WELL, so-and-so has more yard signs" they'll give a non-answer like "So-and-so is better for people like me" which they inferred from the loud judgment of people they suppose to be like them.

It's similar to group endorsements. Logically, I have all the same information as the Local Ironworkers 101, but I will place some judgment on what they say because a) they are like me or they are 'experts' in something that is important to me and b) they have apparently thought about it. Saves me a whole lot of thinking.

30 second radio spots, random digit dialing, and knocks on your door from random strangers demonstrably work. All kinds of things work that make no sense except for people preferring to have someone else do their thinking for them.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 3:27 PM on October 8, 2008

Signs, buttons and bumper stickers have a slight subliminal effect. Humans are social and tend to be swayed by the opinions of the crowd. It may prompt comments, and give you a chance to say why you support your candidate. I suspect it really matters more in local elections, where you may not know the candidates and seeing lots of Theora Fifty-Five for Mayor might affect your vote.
posted by theora55 at 3:29 PM on October 8, 2008

Well, I can't vote in California (since I live in Illinois), but on a recent trip out to San Francisco I saw a lot of "No on Prop 8" signs in the Castro area and elsewhere. When I came back from the trip, I found out what Prop 8 was and threw some money towards the organizations fighting it. I never would have known about it but for those signs.
posted by desjardins at 3:36 PM on October 8, 2008

In my area (Santa Monica, CA), someone put up a large "Defend Marriage. No on 8." sign on their wall.

It definitely (1) reminded me which proposition related to marriage and (2) caused me to double-check whether I was voting yes or no.

(NO!)
posted by dontoine at 3:54 PM on October 8, 2008

I agree that it helps with the local elections. I live in a sparsely populated area, so most of the advertising I see is actually for candidates in neighboring Congressional districts. If it weren't for seeing Oot signs in the same yards as Obama signs I probably wouldn't know who was running in my district. (Yes, his name is Oot. Really.)
posted by saffry at 4:01 PM on October 8, 2008

Here in South Mississippi, the signs can get really out of hand. Not so much the yard signs, but the ones that the candidates put out on virtually every tree, stump, post and slow-moving dog. These often remain for months after the election, just being eyesores. I would vote for any candidate that would promise to remove their signs the morning after the election.

I believe that I have been swayed only in a negative manner by yard signs--if Jim-Bob's yard sports the sign of candidate X, that candidate can forget my vote.
posted by thebrokedown at 4:05 PM on October 8, 2008

Some people must think they're effective. My McCain sign has been stolen out of my yard three times in the past week.

At least they haven't resorted to attempted murder yet.
posted by oaf at 4:23 PM on October 8, 2008

They may make people feel they have a voice. Early last spring, I was driving through a rural area (actually, a day of rural area) and there were hand-made Obama signs everywhere.

Made me smile at people I would not have, and maybe they smiled back at me in return (rather than at the dog riding shotgun).

I am talking about some low-down areas, where I suspect people rolling through don't look kindly on the locals. Now, if rich people sneer, it's because of McCain. As far as they know.

Those signs might have swung a vote or two.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 4:37 PM on October 8, 2008

I always vote against candidates whose signs are red-white-blue, as I am a fan of Samuel Johnson's famous remark.
posted by neuron at 4:40 PM on October 8, 2008

Maybe, but in my neighborhood it allows us to know who our allies will be when the shooting war starts.

Really, advertising is advertising. If people are convinced by television ads, why wouldn't they be convinced by the opinions of their neighbors?
posted by Seamus at 7:37 PM on October 8, 2008

Actually, yes. Years ago I started seeing signs for a Republican candidate for State office in my reliably Democratic neighborhood, asked people about it, checked her out, and damn if she wasn't the better candidate, and a terrific State senator. If I hadn't seen the signs, I may have gotten there anyway, but it was the signs that first made me pay attention, because these were my neighbors saying, check her out.
posted by nax at 7:40 PM on October 8, 2008

What cimbrog said. The only real purpose they serve is name recognition. That's part of the reason why, in some parts of the country, Obama field offices don't bother much with yard signs.
posted by Nattie at 7:49 PM on October 8, 2008

Well, we have an Obama sign in our yard to let other white people know that it's not just going to be blacks voting for him. So I guess I'd have to go with the 'beacon' theory mentioned above.



(that and it pisses off the in-laws)
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 7:51 PM on October 8, 2008

I think political signs are comparable to a bumpersticker on a car. The owner feels pride displaying something they feel strongly about, and no one passing by takes notice. Most political signs I see have the names of the candidate and that's it. Maybe I'd see a web address if I'd stop the car, get out, and walk onto someone's lawn to examine. The big question is why so many of these signs are still on display after the elections end.
posted by Mael Oui at 8:33 PM on October 8, 2008

>Have campaign yard signs ever convinced you to vote for - or against - any particular candidate?
I'm not sure if convinced to vote for is the right was to explain this... but a friend went into the booth in 1987 to vote for Russ Bastow (the Progressive Conservative) and instead unintentionally, mistakenly voted for Ed Fulton (the Liberal). Ed had by far more lawn signs during the campaign. He said he recognised the name and I guess he confused recognition with his original intention.
posted by philfromhavelock at 9:14 PM on October 8, 2008

However, in a local election where having the voter even know your name there is an election for your office is a major advantage, yard signs are essential.

ftfy My Mom used to be on the County Board. It was always a problem when people didn't see her on the City Council ballot.

Obama field offices don't bother much with yard signs

The Obama campaign is really working on a different model this time around compared with any prior D campaign. (The GOP has had computerized targeting since the 1990s.) It will have a major test in about four weeks. But I think they're leapfrogging past some old media methods. There are complaints that they don't even time campaign stops to coordinate with the evening network news.

On the other hand, the O can be remixed in so many other ways using the website that they obviously believe in having it out there, too. It's just that they want/need you to "buy in" with a donation, so the sign is more like a public radio/TV reward. In the past the sign was considered a way to "volunteer" without hitting the shoe leather or "donate" without opening your wallet.

For myself I am seriously considering hacking together a big Obama sign, using the Rasterbator, visible from a major city street that adjoins our rental property.
posted by dhartung at 12:26 AM on October 9, 2008

It appears in some ridings in Toronto, sticking a Liberal sign on your lawn just might get your brake lines cut. So that's a potential negative. On the other hand, this is getting enough national attention in Canada that it's making Conservative supporters seem like a bunch of thugs. Harper must LOVE that...
posted by barc0001 at 1:02 AM on October 9, 2008

There actually is an element of strategy to campaign signs--it's kind of a dirty trick, but if you can convince the voting public that one candidate has a minor advantage (even a 51/49 swing), that perception tends to become greatly magnified in the final voting numbers, because a lot of people will vote on the 'consensus candidate,' rather than risk alienation in the minds of their peers.

This sounds like some kind of abstract hypothetical that a psychology text would concoct to describe social obedience, but it's actually a documented phenomenon called the spiral of silence, and I spent a lot of time studying what it's capable of doing back in undergrad--the case study in the original book is Germany's 1965 and 1972 elections, where neck-and-neck races became blowouts in the last few days of the campaigns.

If a voter drives to the polls on November 4th, he'll pass a bunch of houses with signs out front. If those signs are overwhelmingly McCain, it might be enough to subconsciously convince him that McCain is the consensus candidate, and there's been research to show that a disturbing number of people, in that situation, will change their vote to match consensus. It seems almost colloquial to assume that voters wouldn't know the actual split, but there are a lot of people out there who aren't frantically refreshing fivethirtyeight every ten minutes, and who get most of their election tidbits from Fox News. If one of those people gets it in his head that Obama supporters are outnumbered by McCain supporters, or that McCain has somehow already been ordained to win the election, it imparts something like a 10% chance that he'll change his vote to match. (It's been a few years since I wrote that damned thesis, so I'd have to go dig it off of an old hard drive to verify that number, but it was horrifyingly large--the greatest indictment of people as herd animals that I've ever seen)

That said, I still think Obama's campaign has it right--voter registration efforts have a lot better ROI, and encouraging participation is empirically better for democracy. But the signs are not without merit.
posted by Mayor West at 5:25 AM on October 9, 2008

It reminds me to feel guilty that I'm not informed about the issues at hand, and that I'd better vote if I want to be a good citzen.
posted by Phalene at 5:45 AM on October 9, 2008

In my part of suburban Houston, I see zero yard signs, although some local candidates are putting up signs along streets and intersections. I've seen a few Obama stickers on cars (including mine) and only one for McCain.

As someone who has watched or participated in elections since the 1970s, it looks to me like these types of displays are increasingly passé. Maybe the 21st century version is to put a "sticker" on your MySpace/Facebook/etc profile.

Anyhow, to answer the question, no, a yard sign has never consciously affected my vote. In almost every election I've been straight-ticket Democratic anyhow, so I'm answering that based on local non-partisan elections (though I know who has what partisan affiliation anyhow) or on primaries.
posted by Robert Angelo at 6:59 AM on October 9, 2008

Wow -- thanks everyone. Some good insights here -- there's lots more to these signs than I originally imagined.
posted by davidmsc at 7:21 AM on October 9, 2008