How is it that these analog expressions of political preference survive in our digitally driven, social media-dominated age? Do they even work?
1
- WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press
- Updated
Political scientists and historians differ on when Americans began using yard signs, but it's been nearly two centuries. John Quincy Adams had signs printed for his campaign for the presidency in 1824.
Experts say the current wire-frame versions began appearing in the 1960s as suburbs — and lawns — sprouted. Their usefulness is questionable, but Donald Green, a professor of political science at Columbia University, says his latest research, published this past March, suggests signs could provide a 1 to 2 percentage point boost to a candidate in a very tight contest — though he doubts they'd be a deciding factor in the race for the White House.
"They're not enormously effective, but they're not ineffective, either," Green says. "They could kick you over the line in a very tight race."
2
- WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press
- Updated
Presidential campaigns typically give away signs or sell them online as a fundraising tool. But in this extra-raucous election year, voters have been making their own to send unique messages.
A hand-painted sign fashioned from sheet metal in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts reads: "Benghazi Hillary for Prison Now." One that's been widely circulated on Facebook features a Trump sign doctored to make it read "RUM: Make America Great Again," complete with a photo of Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow.
Another popular alternative: Signs imploring the universe to send a giant meteor and "just end it already."
I have settled on a campaign yard sign that fits my thoughts on the 2016 election pic.twitter.com/sgqKydG1mb
— Jeffrey Usman (@Prawfish) October 22, 2016
Anand Sokhey, an associate professor of political science at the University of Colorado Boulder, says it's all part of America's quadrennial political theater. "People need to find creative ways to express themselves," he says. "We've asked people their motives in displaying these things. They tend to be more ideologically extreme, more activist."
3
- WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press
- Updated
Nationwide, campaign signs have been defaced or simply have vanished, leaving the candidates' supporters seething.
Local party leaders in western Michigan's Ottawa County and in central Ohio's Licking County say hundreds of Trump and Clinton signs have been vandalized or stolen.
A Massachusetts man rigged a fake booby trap around a Trump yard sign after two other signs went missing; in battleground Pennsylvania, a woman duct-taped alarms and trip wires to her two Clinton signs. Also in Pennsylvania, a man says he's had 13 Trump signs stolen, one by a man wearing goggles and a hazmat suit, and in the Boston suburb of Easton, a trick-or-treater dressed in a green Gumby costume tore down a "Make America Great Again" sign.
There's been no shortage of down-ticket misdeeds, either. In Rhode Island, former Democratic state Rep. Brian Coogan is accused of stealing a local rival's signs and faces larceny and conspiracy charges.
Although there's no national clearinghouse for violations, many states impose civil penalties with fines of up to $1,000 for removing, defacing or destroying political advertising.
4
- Updated
Pittsburghers receive postcards against campaign signs
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Residents in one of Pittsburgh's more upscale neighborhoods have been receiving unsigned postcards asking them to remove campaign signs from their yards.
KDKA-TV reports people in the Murdoch Farms section of Squirrel Hill have received the cards urging them to talk to their neighbors or use social media to talk politics and take down signs "distracting from our beautiful neighborhood."
Steve Schwartz isn't happy about receiving the card, so he enlarged it and put it in his yard alongside his political signs supporting Hillary Clinton and other Democrats. He says he wanted people who might not have gotten a card to know that "this attitude is out there."
Other neighbors say they're surprised by the anonymous postcards and don't plan to remove their signs.
NEW: Homeowners angered after receiving unsigned postcards asking them to remove campaign signs.
— Ralph Iannotti (@IannottiRalph) November 2, 2016
KDKA TV NEWS@11 pic.twitter.com/fWPRN1z04J
___
Information from: KDKA-TV, http://www.kdka.com
5
- Updated
Man puts Trump yard sign inside cage, threatens trespassers
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — A Lawrenceville man has installed a metal cage and barbed wire fencing around a Donald Trump campaign sign on his front yard, with an accompanying sign warning the public that trespassers "will be shot."
Homeowner Jim Poe tells WXIA-TV that he installed the cage and anchored it after two Trump signs of his were stolen from in front of his home on two separate occasions. The second time, he says the thief went through barbed wire to steal the sign supporting the Republican presidential nominee.
When the television station asked Poe what actions he would take if he caught someone stealing his sign again, Poe's response was short: "Probably be better not to be public record."
Police say anyone caught stealing campaign signs could face a misdemeanor theft charge.
Tired of thieves stealing his signs, Jim went the extra mile https://t.co/uE5jF5yv8l
— 13WMAZ News (@13wmaznews) November 1, 2016
___
Information from: WXIA-TV, http://www.11alive.com/
6
- Updated
Man threatens teens with gun after Trump sign destroyed
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — A Detroit-area man has been charged after pointing a gun at six teens and preteens he suspected of destroying his yard sign supporting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Allen Park police say officers found the 12- to 14-year-olds on the grass Saturday with 56-year-old Michael Kubek standing over them "cursing and yelling."
They said a gun had been pointed at them.
Kubek called police earlier to report the damaged sign and that the group was fleeing. He told officers the gun was unloaded. Kubek also said he didn't see who damaged the sign.
He is free on bond after being arraigned on assault with a dangerous weapon charges. A Dec. 12 preliminary examination is scheduled.
The Associated Press left a voicemail Friday at a telephone number listed for Kubek.
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- WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press
Political scientists and historians differ on when Americans began using yard signs, but it's been nearly two centuries. John Quincy Adams had signs printed for his campaign for the presidency in 1824.
Experts say the current wire-frame versions began appearing in the 1960s as suburbs — and lawns — sprouted. Their usefulness is questionable, but Donald Green, a professor of political science at Columbia University, says his latest research, published this past March, suggests signs could provide a 1 to 2 percentage point boost to a candidate in a very tight contest — though he doubts they'd be a deciding factor in the race for the White House.
"They're not enormously effective, but they're not ineffective, either," Green says. "They could kick you over the line in a very tight race."
- WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press
Presidential campaigns typically give away signs or sell them online as a fundraising tool. But in this extra-raucous election year, voters have been making their own to send unique messages.
A hand-painted sign fashioned from sheet metal in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts reads: "Benghazi Hillary for Prison Now." One that's been widely circulated on Facebook features a Trump sign doctored to make it read "RUM: Make America Great Again," complete with a photo of Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow.
Another popular alternative: Signs imploring the universe to send a giant meteor and "just end it already."
I have settled on a campaign yard sign that fits my thoughts on the 2016 election pic.twitter.com/sgqKydG1mb
— Jeffrey Usman (@Prawfish) October 22, 2016
Anand Sokhey, an associate professor of political science at the University of Colorado Boulder, says it's all part of America's quadrennial political theater. "People need to find creative ways to express themselves," he says. "We've asked people their motives in displaying these things. They tend to be more ideologically extreme, more activist."
- WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press
Nationwide, campaign signs have been defaced or simply have vanished, leaving the candidates' supporters seething.
Local party leaders in western Michigan's Ottawa County and in central Ohio's Licking County say hundreds of Trump and Clinton signs have been vandalized or stolen.
A Massachusetts man rigged a fake booby trap around a Trump yard sign after two other signs went missing; in battleground Pennsylvania, a woman duct-taped alarms and trip wires to her two Clinton signs. Also in Pennsylvania, a man says he's had 13 Trump signs stolen, one by a man wearing goggles and a hazmat suit, and in the Boston suburb of Easton, a trick-or-treater dressed in a green Gumby costume tore down a "Make America Great Again" sign.
There's been no shortage of down-ticket misdeeds, either. In Rhode Island, former Democratic state Rep. Brian Coogan is accused of stealing a local rival's signs and faces larceny and conspiracy charges.
Although there's no national clearinghouse for violations, many states impose civil penalties with fines of up to $1,000 for removing, defacing or destroying political advertising.
Pittsburghers receive postcards against campaign signs
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Residents in one of Pittsburgh's more upscale neighborhoods have been receiving unsigned postcards asking them to remove campaign signs from their yards.
KDKA-TV reports people in the Murdoch Farms section of Squirrel Hill have received the cards urging them to talk to their neighbors or use social media to talk politics and take down signs "distracting from our beautiful neighborhood."
Steve Schwartz isn't happy about receiving the card, so he enlarged it and put it in his yard alongside his political signs supporting Hillary Clinton and other Democrats. He says he wanted people who might not have gotten a card to know that "this attitude is out there."
Other neighbors say they're surprised by the anonymous postcards and don't plan to remove their signs.
NEW: Homeowners angered after receiving unsigned postcards asking them to remove campaign signs.
— Ralph Iannotti (@IannottiRalph) November 2, 2016
KDKA TV NEWS@11 pic.twitter.com/fWPRN1z04J
___
Information from: KDKA-TV, http://www.kdka.com
Man puts Trump yard sign inside cage, threatens trespassers
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — A Lawrenceville man has installed a metal cage and barbed wire fencing around a Donald Trump campaign sign on his front yard, with an accompanying sign warning the public that trespassers "will be shot."
Homeowner Jim Poe tells WXIA-TV that he installed the cage and anchored it after two Trump signs of his were stolen from in front of his home on two separate occasions. The second time, he says the thief went through barbed wire to steal the sign supporting the Republican presidential nominee.
When the television station asked Poe what actions he would take if he caught someone stealing his sign again, Poe's response was short: "Probably be better not to be public record."
Police say anyone caught stealing campaign signs could face a misdemeanor theft charge.
Tired of thieves stealing his signs, Jim went the extra mile https://t.co/uE5jF5yv8l
— 13WMAZ News (@13wmaznews) November 1, 2016
___
Information from: WXIA-TV, http://www.11alive.com/
Man threatens teens with gun after Trump sign destroyed
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — A Detroit-area man has been charged after pointing a gun at six teens and preteens he suspected of destroying his yard sign supporting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Allen Park police say officers found the 12- to 14-year-olds on the grass Saturday with 56-year-old Michael Kubek standing over them "cursing and yelling."
They said a gun had been pointed at them.
Kubek called police earlier to report the damaged sign and that the group was fleeing. He told officers the gun was unloaded. Kubek also said he didn't see who damaged the sign.
He is free on bond after being arraigned on assault with a dangerous weapon charges. A Dec. 12 preliminary examination is scheduled.
The Associated Press left a voicemail Friday at a telephone number listed for Kubek.
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