Throughout election cycles, political candidates often place election signs throughout cities and towns to spread their values and get their name in the running in preparation for election day, despite this, many have questioned the impact of these signs and how necessary they are.
Signs being put up throughout towns and cities isn’t just something seen in Chandler, it’s seen state and nationwide. Candidates’ hopes by putting up a sign, is to increase their name recognition so that come election day, voters recognize the name and vote for them simply because they recognize the name. Ultimately this is useful in smaller, more local elections where voters aren’t as familiar with the candidate. If someone is running for state legislature and posts signs throughout their district with their opponent placing little to no signs, the hope is that swing voters recognize the name from one of the signs they saw, thus prompting them to be far more likely to vote for the candidate they are familiar with.
Another thing that candidates have made an incentive to do is place signs near, or outside polling stations as well as shopping malls to sway voters towards one particular candidate. Placing signs outside of polling locations is a way to change a voter’s mind at the last minute especially if it’s someone who doesn’t necessarily care for politics or follow elections. It also outlines the basic idea of policy which can change an independent voter’s vote at the ballot box, such as touching on bipartisan issues like job creation and the economy as well as other popular issues that often win over independent voters.
Despite this however, many simply don’t care nor notice whether the signs are there or not. There is also the fact that the partisan divide in the country is extremely deep, and many Americans often try to distance themselves from the other side whether you’re a Republican or Democrat. When candidates place signs throughout their districts, oftentimes it does increase name recognition however it only focuses on bipartisan policies and doesn’t touch on key issues or go in depth on the issues. This leaves many voters questioning what candidates actually stand for despite what their sign says and oftentimes that information is difficult to find especially when talking about small local races.
Although there are negatives to placing election signs, many independent voters are still open to voting for either candidate with many republicans and democrats even willing to cross the aisle if they feel familiar with a candidate. In local races, every vote counts and placing those signs outside and going the extra mile could mean a narrow victory, which would make the time and resources spent on election signs worth it.
