During election time, candidates in our area set their sights on prime pieces of land — not for personal investment, but for personal use nonetheless — our front yards. I happen to know a few of the candidates running for Mayor, City Council and School Board seats this time around; some are my friends, a couple are my neighbors and one is my son's high school teacher. As you can see, I have quite a dilemma on my hands, and on my front lawn!
Letting people know who I support seems to matter around here, and I've been approached about displaying yard signs. Political Yard Signs, as they are casually called, consist of colorful printed cardboard mounted on a slim metal frame which can be easily pushed into the soil for display. This small billboard placed in front of a home is supposed to inform passers-by who you support, and also lets the candidates know the resident's votes are spoken for.
Local Victory, a website promoting the use of yard signs, offers this observation: “… by seeing your signs in many different places, the voters will get the impression that your campaign is receiving widespread support across the district.”
Getting a lawn sign can be done in a couple ways in our neck of the woods; the candidate might ask if you'll display a sign for them, or you may get one after you make a contribution to their campaign. Other signs just mysteriously appear on unclaimed parcels. Corners are especially coveted and have a cacophony of signs.
As Election Day gets closer, I start to see other innovative ways candidates stake their claim to certain areas in our community. Self-advertising with customized car window decals is both convenient and portable. The decorated automobiles are parked on very busy streets, and are periodically moved to different eye-catching locations in town.
Driving around my small community, I can't help but notice which candidate has the most signage per block — this is part of the master plan, of course — some homes proudly display an array of signs neatly lined-up next to their white picket fences, while others prop a few signs between their rose-bushes and hedges.
I'm a bit hesitant when it comes to accepting requests to display my allegiance as a voter, despite the customary practice, unless I can offer equal opportunity curb-appeal to all who ask. Until election day has come and gone, I guess I'll just have to forgo the meticulous landscaping in our front yard and temporarily replace it with those colorful sign displays … by doing this, I'll keep my friends' allegiance too.
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