Signs and Mailers: Do They Win Your Vote?

The General Municipal Election is Tuesday. Each year around this time our lawns and mailboxes are filled with political signs and letters. But how effective are they for candidates seeking local office?

Mimi Auchincloss, chair of the Radnor Republican Party says: I believe that both signs and direct mail to homes are helpful in local campaigns. Signs increase name recognition, and direct mail helps inform the voters about the candidate's stands on issues and also can remind voters of the record of incumbents.  Personal contact, of course, is very effective, and comes both from door to door, and being well known from activities. The voters in Radnor are very attentive to the issues and while all of these factors will be a help in a campaign, ultimately the voters will make their own decisions after they evaluate all the information.

Bruce Bikin, former chair of the Radnor Democratic Party, says: It's a small issue but has a complicated response. The people who spend the time and energy to find out about the candidates before they vote will do some of their own research, read the local papers editorial sections and scan the mailings they get prior to the election. In an election for Twp. Commission or School Board, where there are few defining issues (other than less taxes, more services, more teachers, better education), and the county-wide offices such as Commissioner and Judge, lawn signs and mailings can sometimes be useful is raising the level of familiarity with a specific name of a candidate.  The voters don't necessarily know much else about the candidates, but in this kind of election, many people rely on party affiliation simply because they haven't the time, energy or interest to gather their own information about the candidates.  I guess if our electorate was more involved and more savvy about the issues on the table, lawn signs and mailing would be less effective or useful.  The fact that the vast majority of registered voters will skip the election tells you how effective mailing and lawn signs are in galvanizing voters.