Council discussion on election signage is needed
By Lethbridge Herald on March 28, 2023.
OUR OPINION
Are election signs an eyesore that need to be banned from public property?
Are they a distraction to passing drivers?
A motion recently put forward to city council by Belinda Crowson and Jeff Carlson aims to address a matter that is visible every time an election rolls around, especially a municipal one when people are running for seats on school boards as well as councils.
We all see the signs planted along stretches of major roadways including Scenic Drive, Mayor Magrath Drive and University Drive. As candidates compete for name recognition, often those signs are so close it can be difficult to differentiate among the names.
Crowson pointed out at the most recent council meeting that such signs have only minimal impact on voters with an extremely small chance of convincing a person to mark a ballot for a specific person.
An American study in 2015 shows lawn signs can increase voter share by 1.7 per cent on average. Researchers said that amount would be unlikely to alter the result of an election race that would be determined by more than a few percentage points. Results from four separate experiments did show that lawn signs could in theory have an impact on tight races, though.
However, there are other opinions that suggest signs could help a candidate. An author of another U.S. study suggests signs could be be important due to what she called dying local news coverage. The person feels signs may be the best way for candidates to develop name recognition.
That idea was also brought up at council. While Carlson and Crowson have no issue with signs being on private property, banning signs from public property could benefit those who have strong networks and don’t need to build name recognition as much.
The subject of Lethbridge’s notorious wind was also brought up and its impact with signs being seen strewn in coulees and uprooted to be tossed wherever the gusts may take them.
And how much of a distraction are they? As drivers head along busy thoroughfares, are they actually reading each sign they pass? Are they gawking at large signs plunked on homeowners’ corner lots or attached to fences overlooking roadways?
Nobody can deny the sight of all these signs, especially during municipal elections, is not pleasant. The signs can be outright unsightly but would banning them impact the democratic process?
An argument could be made that newcomers running for office would be at a disadvantage if they could only plant signs on private property. Any incumbent politician has some sort of a network that can be relied upon for support so such people enter a campaign with a leg up on their competitors.
This is a matter council needs to thoroughly examine when the issue returns to the Governance Standing Policy Committee to address. It’s definitely a complex subject and one that requires a comprehensive review before any bylaw is implemented.
Kudos to Crowson and Carlson for bringing to council’s attention a matter that often is talked about before, during and after elections. It’s one in which a fulsome conversation with public engagement is definitely warranted.
And thanks to these two veteran councillors, that engagement is going to start.
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He / She with the most signs, wins……