Lawn Signs Don’t Vote …
/… Another Myth From the Ether
This may seem an untimely piece of advice to be writing about as most of my readers aren’t campaigning yet. However, I’m in the middle of a fiercely contested Mayor’s race in our tiny village, and lawn signs are a hot topic. So, while it’s fresh in my mind, I figured I would pass on my sage advice.
No aspect of campaigning gathers more argument than the subject of lawn signs. On the one hand, they’re expensive. A 24 x 30-sized union-printed sign made of corrugated plastic can cost between five and 6 bucks. The “H” stake required to keep it standing can be at least $2.50.
And that doesn’t include tax and shipping.
Do the math. That’s upwards of $800 and more for 100 lawn signs and you haven’t even started.
That’s part of the reasoning detractors argue… “Lawn Signs Don’t Vote”.
But let me present the other side of this much-flipped and dented coin.
In a lot of local elections, people aren’t used to going out and voting. They don’t even know there IS an election. And too many local contests go unchallenged.
So to let people know you’re running and that there even is an election, here are three ways to keep the cost down.
1.) Do a lawn sign fundraiser! In a County Legislature campaign, we took a bright Sunday afternoon and put together a picnic with a $20 suggested donation for which attendees got some food (all was donated), some music, (also donated), and … a lawn sign. Some people wanted more than one because they lived on a corner or had a long lot on a main road, so they ended up paying twenty bucks a piece and we didn’t even have to ask them!
2.) Use a smaller sign. A well-designed 18 x 24 can do just as much as something larger. Remember it’s the NAME that matters. I’ve even seen 8 x 24s that can easily do the trick and you can bring down the cost considerably.
3.) SAVE the STAKES. True, the cost of signs is high. But the “H” stake cost is almost worse! If you’re a local committee, save the stakes from elections each year. It will turn into savings for future elections. In the last local campaign for town offices, we put out a call to veteran campaigners and ended up with 400 free stakes with just one email!
Here are a few tips on how to make a lawn sign initiative work.
1. Get them UNION Printed! First and foremost, it’s the right thing to do. In fact, all your printed materials should have the “Union Bug”. But the practical side is, that there’s nothing worse than recruiting the local Carpenter’s union to help put up lawn signs only to have them refuse because the printing isn’t union.
2. One of my top ten rules of campaigns is “Live by the list, die by the list”. Handing out a half dozen lawn signs to your neighbor down the street means that one goes in her front yard, and the rest wind up in their car trunk till after election day. It’s well-meaning. But not a good return on investment. You have to get the name and address of the people you distribute signs to. Here’s why:
• So you can thank the person.
• So you can repair them after Halloween pranksters tear them down.
• So you can put “Vote Tuesday” stickers on them as part of GOTV.
3. You need to help take them down after the election is over!
Remember: Consider the size and material. Large ones blow over in the wind. Cardboard can get saturated in Autumn storms and last but one season. Plastic Bag ones rip in the wind.
When you get a lawn sign design, it’s the NAME recognition you’re trying to accomplish. Make the name the focal point and don’t forget to put the website on it. It’s your last name they’re looking for on the ballot. And, last but not least, you have to be able to see them at night.
Obviously, I’m a lawn sign fan. And, while Lawn signs may not be able to vote, I can tell you that campaigns that don’t have a well-coordinated lawn sign program rarely win.
