HerAirness t1_itq6m4j wrote on October 25, 2022 at 2:32 PM

I honestly wish we had laws limiting where these signs could be. Fall is the most beautiful time of the year in New England & every year, the landscape is increasingly littered with political signs. Last week, I tried to take a picture of my son at a Halloween event in town and I could not get an angle where there weren't political signs in the background. These signs never change who anyone votes for & they're absolute visual trash. I can't wait for them to all be taken down.

Kolzig33189 t1_itq7vdn wrote on October 25, 2022 at 2:41 PM

I agree. Do people honestly think a sign saying they personally support candidate X has changed anyones mind or convinced someone to vote for their person ever?

At worst, it makes a portion of the population think you’re a blazing idiot for supporting whatever candidate.

ertebolle t1_itqlxfx wrote on October 25, 2022 at 4:14 PM

I think they can be useful to make names familiar - if you're generally inclined to vote D/R but don't follow local politics much, you're less likely to omit (or cross parties for) a local candidate from your party if you've seen their name in a bunch of places. There's also the social permission thing - lets you know that you're not the only person around who votes this way.

That being said, they come out way too early, are often larger + visually louder than they need to be, and the benefits of signs for statewide / federal races are harder to justify; nobody needs to read a sign to know who Ned (or for that matter Bob) is.