What wins elections?

When it comes to campaigns and election signage no one has all the answers, but most will tell candidates that safe colors, standard signs and visibility are important. How does a candidate make him or herself stand out? In Windham and surrounding areas drivers see many red, white and blue signs in different variations. Jennie Butler chose a lighter shade of blue for her signs, Bill Diamond has a diamond shape on his signs and Kaile Warren came out with giant pencils this week with the words “#wantmore” written on it in black letters. 
 

Typical signs are issue signs, displaying what the issues are and how the candidate will vote on that issue, car toppers, which are signs that are displayed on a car or the bed of a truck. One idea for signs is taking three or four signs along one stretch of road and making the words on the signs rhyme. This was done for the Burma Shave product. The last sign proclaims, “Use Burma Shave” or in this case, the candidate. 

“I believe that conventional campaign signage is boring and sometimes thoughtless, lacking insight. Additionally, the conventional colors make recognizing a particular candidate difficult,” said Kaile Warren, candidate for state senate district 26. “My (pencil) sign is eye-catching and it is engaging. It is much more than a traditional campaign sign, as it has a multi-tasking function. The hash tag #wantmore might be a message to people who want more for their children, or who want more for their own opportunity, and especially who want more from their elected leaders. It is noticed by young children. I believe it is important to get young people involved in, or at least better aware of, how our elections work. My hope is that young people will ask their parents/grandparents about the pencil signs and what they mean.” 

Whether the sign is for a democrat or a republican, the most important part is that it can be read at 35 miles per hour, a candidate’s name is on the sign and it’s not the same color scheme as an opponent. That’s what matters when it comes to name recognition. All of the signs should be a message to the community to get out there and vote on November 4.