Custom Yard Signs Are a THING This Election

Just say ‘Yes’ to yard signs. With tips for DIY

By Carol Lindsay

In case you haven't noticed, the Harris-Walz campaign has inspired a burst of creativity among voters sprung from the doldrums and bounding into the lofty air of HOPE. Nowhere is this more evident than in the homemade yard signs that are appearing in front of homes across the country.

From the moment Biden passed the torch to Kamala, this has been a people-powered campaign. In those early days, before campaign-produced signs were available, filmmaker Michael Moore challenged his followers to make their own signs. Check them out here. Yards signs have since popped up in red, purple, and blue districts around the country. 

Handmade yard sign featured in Michael Moore’s Substack article

The surge in homemade signs may have something to do with a decision by Democrats, at least by 2016, to limit the number of signs available to voters. That’s because some research suggested signs weren’t very effective in getting more votes. Or as old guard campaign staff are quick to say: “Yard signs don’t vote.” Because the Obama campaign made such good use of the Internet and social media, many thought yard signs were obsolete. 

But in 2016, Republicans wanted to create the impression that their candidate was widely supported.. Putting up signs wherever they could, they left Dems awash in a sea of red. In some rural counties it appeared there were no Dems at all, judging by the signs along country roads.

The red sign wave repeated itself in Virginia in 2021 where Republican Gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin flooded the state with yard signs while Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe had virtually none. “It was demoralizing to see the only yard sign in my blue neighborhood be for Youngkin,” Falls Church, VA resident Lisa Howard remembered. “Where were the McAuliffe signs?  Nowhere!”

Yards signs may not vote, but the people who see or don’t see them do. Signs show that we are a community participating in a people-run campaign. They also show who and what people vote for. As activist Denis Orsinger shared, “Yard signs DO make a difference. A stranger walking past my house yelled, ‘Don’t ever move. I know who to vote for by looking at your yard signs!!”

Yes yard signs, those fixtures of campaigns, have returned. And not just the mass distributed, party-issued, reliably blue signs of the past, but hand-made and hand-designed signs, brimming with individual conviction and humor.

Shared by Pat Reuss

Home-made signs are compelling, in part, because someone took the time to make them. Their craft and messages are both unpredictable and authentic. And you too can put a stake in the ground for your take on the election. Here are some tips:

Start with an idea. Or just a name (Harris). Or a meme (“weird” or, of course, cats). Perhaps an issue. Research suggests that people respond less to party and candidate signs than they do to an issue they care about (my choice, my body, my vote).

If you prefer the DIY (do it yourself) craft approach that Michael Moore spotlighted, you can make your sign by hand. This is easier than you think. All you need is a blank surface. This can be a piece of cardboard or wood, a yard sign blank ordered online, or a re-purposed yard sign from a previous election. You can prime the surface with gesso, chalk, or primer. Or just go ahead and paint with acrylics or use waterproof markers like a Sharpie. Best practice is to finish with a spray fixative to protect from the weather, but that’s up to you. And voilà, you have your custom DIY yard sign.

Senate Candidate ER Smith, running for State Senate in Tennessee,

making her own signs out of leftover wood.

Even more popular are yard signs using graphic design programs such as Canva or online print services like VistaPrint. This is what Robbin Warner did. So many people liked it that Robbin made her sign available for sale online.

Robbin Warner’s custom “Cool Cats on Sycamore Street fur Kamala”

Made using an online printing service

With these custom yard signs, we own the message. We show what we care about, how we are voting, and our vision for the future. 

Carol Lindsay making her views known.

Carol Lindsay went to law school after teaching English for ten years and serving on her union negotiating team. She enjoys working with progressives on ways to influence elections.

---