{"id":66043,"date":"2022-09-30T08:48:59","date_gmt":"2022-09-30T12:48:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/?p=66043"},"modified":"2022-09-30T09:54:11","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T13:54:11","slug":"reid-elections-signs-of-the-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2022\/09\/30\/reid-elections-signs-of-the-times\/","title":{"rendered":"REID: Election signs of the times"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dylan<\/p>\n

Yesterday was sign day in Toronto\u2019s municipal election. Campaign workers spread out over the city to hammer signs onto lawns and leave signs for posting in apartment windows.<\/p>\n

Signs supporting candidates are a time-honoured tradition in Canadian elections. But what is their role? Do they really make a difference?<\/p>\n

I remember visiting England a few years ago in the midst of a national election, and being taken aback by the almost complete lack of election signs. Many seats in England were then considered \u201csafe,\u201d and so presumably the parties didn\u2019t bother putting much effort, or funds, into those campaigns. But even in contested seats, there were not a lot of election signs. You\u2019d barely know the next government of the nation was being decided.<\/p>\n

I think that\u2019s one of the most basic uses of election signs \u2013 reminding voters that there\u2019s an election happening. I\u2019ve seen complaints in Toronto in recent weeks along the lines of \u201cyou\u2019d never know there was an election.\u201d Once the city is awash in signs, everyone knows an election is happening. And the clashing signs \u2013 if there is more than one strong candidate \u2013 can lend a sense of drama and excitement.<\/p>\n

In an era where there\u2019s so much competition for attention, election signs can also be important for letting people know who is running. In provincial and federal elections, people are more likely to know the leaders of the respective parties rather than their local candidate, so signs can provide that local information. In municipal elections, without parties, voters may have no idea even what their options are \u2013 signs can at least let them know who is running. I\u2019ve often particularly enjoyed the corner lots where the resident has allowed all the candidates to put up a sign \u2013 essentially providing an information bulletin on their lawn.<\/p>\n

Can signs make a difference? I still remember Toronto\u2019s 2003 city election<\/a> \u2013 one of the most interesting in memory. Barbara Hall, former mayor of the former city of Toronto, was seen as the progressive standard-bearer in the election to replace the conservative Mel Lastman. City councillor David Miller was also running as a progressive candidate, but he was at first considered marginal and a potential spoiler. But on sign day, suddenly there were huge David Miller signs on people\u2019s lawns all over the city. It announced that he was a serious candidate with serious support, worth considering. Of course many other factors came into play, but the signs were a start. In the end, he came from behind to win the election.<\/p>\n

In their book Nudge<\/em>, Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein talk about how studies show that we are swayed by what our peers and neighbours do. Informing people that most people vote, for example, can increase the number of people who vote. Signs can operate on that principle \u2013 discovering that many of one\u2019s neighbours are supporting a candidate can influence us to also consider supporting that candidate.<\/p>\n

But signs can also be deceptive. The NDP has a strong core base of support and good organization, and in elections often gets a strong sign campaign going. But as often as not, despite seeing many NDP signs in a riding, the final vote doesn\u2019t reflect the balance of signs, and the NDP comes in well behind. Conversely, when the NDP wins a riding, it didn\u2019t necessarily have a lot more signs than when it lost. The winning margin comes from people who don\u2019t put up signs.<\/p>\n

Election signs may not be a reliable indicator of who will win. But, especially in a crowded field, they do help to show who is a serious candidate \u2013 someone with dedicated support and good organization. They can help narrow, or expand, the field of viable candidates for voters to consider. In an age of fragmented, mostly electronic media, they are a solid, physical way of conveying information and participating in an election. But perhaps their most vital contribution is bringing life to a campaign and enhancing the vibrancy of democracy.<\/p>\n

If you generally host election signs, or have experience using them in a campaign, please share your insights about them in the comments.<\/p>\n

Photo (from 2014 election) by Richard Hsu<\/a> (creative commons)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday was sign day in Toronto\u2019s municipal election. Campaign workers spread out over the city to hammer signs onto lawns and leave signs for posting in apartment windows. Signs supporting candidates are a time-honoured tradition in Canadian elections. But what is their role? Do they really make a difference? I remember visiting England a fewContinue reading “REID: Election signs of the times”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4006,"featured_media":66045,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[157,22482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-civic-engagement","category-elections"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nREID: Election signs of the times - Spacing Toronto<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2022\/09\/30\/reid-elections-signs-of-the-times\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"REID: Election signs of the times - Spacing Toronto\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yesterday was sign day in Toronto\u2019s municipal election. 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