Taking a Stand: Can political signs swing an election?
Signs, signs, everywhere signs. You can’t sling a dead cat without hitting a political sign this year, asking you to vote for candidate A or candidate B.
For me, signs never really had much impact on how I’d vote. Just because Billy Bob has a sign in his yard telling folks he supports candidate A, doesn’t mean a hill of beans to me. Actually, it could be quite the opposite. If I didn’t like Billy Bob I might question what kind of people are supporting a certain candidate and cast my ballot for candidate B.
However, during an election year signs can sometimes serve as polls as to what the general public is thinking. Granted, I’ve seen the town blanketed in signs for a candidate who ended up getting his rear kicked on election day, but normally, signs in yards give us a gauge of both how broad of support there is for a candidate and just how confident the candidate is that he or she would continue to spend money. Candidates who have given up hope will rarely continue to throw good money after bad.
Now, I’m not counting public domain signs. These are signs which are simply placed on the right-of-way, off on the side of the road. This doesn’t denote support for a candidate, but instead just means they took the time to sink a stake in the ground with their sign on it.
As for campaign sign strategy, getting a candidate’s name out is key in an election year. However, much more important is attracting the attention of the public and passing motorists. It’s not enough to have a sign, given the fact everyone and their cousins are running for office this year. Instead, you must have a sign which people pay attention to.
For instance, sheriff’s candidate Doc Smith probably has one of the most interesting signs, with the slogan “What’s Up Doc” on his signs. In 1998, Carol Hamblen had unique signs, in the shape of Warren County, which were also attention-getters. Sheriff Jackie Matheny has gone to the patriotic red, white and blue scheme which is also an attention-getter.
I guess my biggest disappointment as far as signs is in the judge race where you have generic signs which are pretty well nondescript. This is unfortunate seeing all five candidates could really capitalize by putting out attention-grabbing signs.
For instance, Peg Stewart could put out a sign with her picture on it seeing that she’s literally the most attractive candidate in the race, if I may show my sexist side. Now I’m not talking about a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue photo here, but just a nice picture. While it might not be very cerebral, the bottom line is looks sell and a picture tends to hang with people longer.
Bart Stanley has already begun marketing his GQ look with his picture on some of his signs. Although, if I were him I’d play the Bart Simpson card and maybe put “Vote for Bart, Dude” on a few of my signs.
Then there’s Richard McGregor. Given his pride in his Scottish background, a Scottish scheme would go over well in a community where most people are Scots-Irish. Heck, he could even don a kilt on his signs.
Then you’ve got Keith Smartt. Come on, how easy is it? “Get Smartt, Vote for Smartt” or “Elect a Smartt Man Judge.” Hey, it’s corny but it sticks in your mind. And let’s not forget about Robert Newman. The obvious “We need a New Man as Judge” would be an easy sign.
The bottom line is signs don’t vote; however, the message from an effective sign can at least stick in a voter’s mind. This is important in a business where name recognition is half the battle and in a year where the winners may be decided by a mere handful of votes.
(Duane Sherrill is a reporter for the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at news@southernstandard.com.)