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This political season in Texas, yard signs have been at the center of stories that sound straight out of The Onion. There鈥檚 the couple . Or the anti-Brett Kavanaugh sign in Hamilton that after Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller posted about it on Facebook. Our Texas Decides series continues with a listener question you might call a sign of the times.
Today鈥檚 question 鈥� or subject really 鈥� comes from Bud Sturguess of Amarillo.
鈥泪'尘 and a lay chaplain, which basically means I'm a preacher and minister without a seminary degree,鈥� he says.
He鈥檚 also a faithful pedestrian. And he鈥檚 growing out his beard. That鈥檚 an important detail because, he says, in its half-grown-out state, well...his beard looks crazy.
鈥淚 have to walk through a lot of residential neighborhoods and in doing so I make sure to walk very calmly and at a deliberate pace because of the way I look,鈥� Sturguess says. "I don't want to seem like I'm running from the scene of something abominable!"
That鈥檚 given him a lot of time to take in a weedy abundance of yard signs. And he got to wondering 鈥� what鈥檚 the point?
鈥淣o one, at least I would hope, has ever based their decision on Election Day on how impressed they were by the color scheme or the font of one candidate sign over the other,鈥� Sturguess says. 鈥淚 don't think anyone who voted in the Lincoln-Douglas election in 1860 voted for one or the other because they preferred Times New Roman over Helvetica.鈥�
What do the experts think?
"I think he has some justified skepticism there," replies . She teaches political science at the University of Houston, and researhes voter behavior and political psychology. Simas says, at the most basic level, yard signs are like any other type of advertising. But politics are more complicated than, say, selling shampoo. And results are harder to measure.
鈥淭he literature is kind of mixed on the effectiveness of campaign signs,鈥� Simas says. 鈥淭here's not strong evidence that they help, there's not strong evidence that they hurt. I think that what people would say the effectiveness is more in activation rather than persuasion.鈥�
That鈥檚 what people with boots on the ground would tell you too. Like Kim Moody.
鈥淚 live in Denton, and I'm a Republican precinct chair,鈥� Moody says. As part of her precinct chair duties, Moody distributes literature and yard signs for candidates like Ted Cruz and Greg Abbott.
鈥淚t just brings attention to people in the general population. Hey, we're getting close to election time. See what you can find out and go vote,鈥� she says.
Moody thinks yard signs 鈥渁ctivation鈥� role is strongest during the primaries, when people are looking within their own party.
鈥淚t allows people to see multiple names out there, and maybe seek out information about candidates,鈥� says Moody. 鈥淒uring the general election season, like we are in right now, you have party against party. People who choose to put them in their yard have already made a decision. They're committed to a candidate and they're showing that to everyone around them.鈥�
Our question asker, Bud Sturguess, thinks that too. But he鈥檚 a bit more cynical.
鈥淚 can come to no other conclusion that the only reason one puts up a sign bearing their candidate's name is to be obnoxious,鈥� he says.
That brings us to the second part of what he's been pondering. Why do some people choose to put out signs?
鈥淭o maybe irk a conservative who's driving by, or a liberal depending on your stance?鈥� hypothesizes Sturguess.
Professor Elizabeth Simas says, yeah, that鈥檚 probably some people's motivation. But it鈥檚 a lot more complicated.
鈥淚t's an interesting form of participation because it is so public,鈥� she says.
Voting is private, so is writing a check to a campaign.
鈥淏ut a yard sing? That's really putting it out there,鈥� says Simas. 鈥淎nd there is a particular subset of people who are more inclined to do that than others.鈥�
Simas says that has to do with how concerned people are about what others think of them, regardless of how passionate they are about their political convictions.
鈥淏eing more concerned about the social desirability of what they're doing, like people who are high on self-monitoring, or people who may be more concerned about 鈥榃ell, what would my neighbors think if they don't like this?鈥� They're going be less likely to put those signs out,鈥� she says.
And what do the yard-sign-havers of Texas have to say about all this? I decided to ask someone with a big Joanna Cattanach for State House sign in his east Dallas yard. His name is Robert Ackerman.
He says he knows his neighbors, and isn't too worried about bugging them with signs. He also thinks putting out signs let him make a difference in a simple way.
鈥淧eople ask us to put up signs. We're on a good thoroughfare to the school,鈥� Ackerman says. 鈥淭here's a line of traffic every morning. Candidates that know us ask if we'll put a sign in the yard...and sometimes we do. And in this case they gave us a really BIG one.鈥�
Though, even he doesn't think campaign signs change minds. But he hopes that maybe they'll get folks to consider some down-ballot races they hadn鈥檛 thought about before.
So it seems yard signs do 鈥渨ork.鈥� It just depends on what your definition of 鈥渨ork鈥� is. If it鈥檚 activating voters, raising awareness, sending messages to your neighbors 鈥搊r trying to get under their skin 鈥搕hen the answer is all of the above.
Kim Moody, the precinct chair in Denton, says people are complicated. You can never really know what鈥檒l get a few extra voters to the polls.
鈥淲e've seen in the last few election cycles that some races are reallyclose. Maybe in some races yard signs do make a difference,鈥� says Moody.
Candidates, voters, party loyalists: You have nothing to lose. Print those yard signs! Decorate your lawn!
At the very least, you鈥檒l give people walking by 鈥損erhaps trying to grow out their beards 鈥搒omething to ponder as they pass.
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