As election day draws near, campaign signs are popping up all over the Mill City.
Some land owners opt for a single, solitary sign. Others populate their property with a plethora of candidate “billboards.”
While some of the “arrangements” make sense from an ideological standpoint, I find the vast majority to be a mish-mash of ideas on how to govern the city, with many being downright contradictory in the displayed candidates’ visions for Lowell. On occasion, the display will even get your ballot rejected by the voting machines.
For example, on the drive home through the Acre and Highlands one recent afternoon, this particular grouping on the corner of Broadway and Fletcher caught my attention:
Side by side, on an L-shaped fence displaying nearly a dozen signs, is the mixed message to re-elect Paul Ratha Yem and vote for Fru Nkimbeng.
Both nice guys, no doubt, but since they’re running against each other in District 7 (the Acre), but impossible for both to be elected.
Coloring in both ovals will lead the new, high-tech voting machines to spit out your ballot and inform you it’s what’s called an “overvote.” You may either get a new ballot and properly complete it with a vote for either Yem or Nkimbeng, or you can waste your time and submit it again with both ovals colored, thereby negating your vote in that race.
A similar scenario caught my eye, only this time in a downtown business window:
Again, since you can’t vote for both Amada Gregory and Wayne Jenness in District 4 (Downtown), anyone looking to this arrangement for guidance will either have to ask the shop owner which one they REALLY support, or flip a coin. Then they can try to figure out where on the ballot “E Gits” is located and whether he got a discount for printing half signs.
All kidding aside, the “sign wars” are a fun part of election season for a political junkie like yours truly. Trying to gauge how a race will play out based on who has the most signs and where is a time-honored tradition in “the bubble.” The old adage “signs don’t vote” is true, but the people who display them very likely do.
It’s just that often times, we have no idea who they’re actually voting for.
(If you see any interesting sign placements, feel free to send them along and we’ll share them on our social media pages)
