“Signs can go on private property with the property owner’s permission,” said Blaine City Clerk Cathy Sorensen. The are prohibited on public property, including parks, schools and government land. The can’t so on state highways, county roads, in medians, on traffic islands, or on utility poles. Beyond that, Blaine limits how close signs can be to sidewalks, how close they can be to roads, and how close they can be to corners. There’s a lot of limitations in signs. Even so, on study shows that yard sign use nationwide has quadrupled since 1984. But are they still relevant? “I see it more as name recognition,” said Sorensen. “But there’s lots of different ways to get their message out to their potential constituents.” According to the Washington Post, campaign signs can cause a 1.7 percent difference in voting, or as they kindly put it: Lawn signs are 98.3 percent useless. So, as Blaine prepares for a Primary Election that typically sees an 8 percent voter turnout, and if it’s true that less than 2 percent of people are influence by campaign signs, that means up to 100 votes could shift city wide – in exchange for months of signage. Even so, campaign signs may have become too well established in campaigns to change. “I don’t see signs ever going away,” said Sorensen.
Campaign Signs are in Season
BLAINE, Minn. – (July 28, 2016) – When it comes to campaigning, one thing is certain, candidates love campaign signs. So much so, that they have to be regulated.
