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TexasTowelie

(111,322 posts)
Wed Sep 16, 2020, 01:08 AM Sep 2020

Not Seeing Biden Signs Doesn't Mean He Doesn't Have Measurable Support

I have lost count of the number of people, both hard leftists and President Donald Trump supporters, who try to tell me that Vice President Joe Biden is doomed this November because they have not seen many Biden/Harris signs or bumper stickers or positive comments about the ticket on social media.

While I’m sure that is a perfect confirmation of both of those groups' personal biases against Biden and Senator Kamala Harris, it’s a good idea to remember that signs are not polls (or votes) no matter how much it seems they should be.

The fact of the matter is that average people gauging the world around them are not qualified to make any sort of statistical analysis. Our Facebook pages are specifically generated by algorithms based on our actions to produce a curated feed of things we agree with, not a scientifically randomized cross section of the voting public.

Our neighborhoods are increasingly designed by gerrymandering to safely give one side of the political spectrum supremacy. Our everyday existences are purposefully manufactured and cannot be relied on to give us the truth, even when we’re not actively deceiving ourselves or ignoring contradictory data.

Read more: https://www.houstonpress.com/news/signs-are-not-polls-nor-votes-11494538

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Not Seeing Biden Signs Doesn't Mean He Doesn't Have Measurable Support (Original Post) TexasTowelie Sep 2020 OP
Signs do not vote Gothmog Sep 2020 #1
I suspect that there is an economic influence on displaying signs. TexasTowelie Sep 2020 #2
Law practices are great places for the 4 by 8's LeftInTX Sep 2020 #5
A Biden yard sign is just asking for vandalism from right-wing goons. Paladin Sep 2020 #3
Signs are our lifeline here hurl Sep 2020 #4
Think of it as a support group for Democrats! LeftInTX Sep 2020 #6

Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
1. Signs do not vote
Wed Sep 16, 2020, 01:42 AM
Sep 2020

I have been helping distribute Biden signs in my county. I am supposed to deliver one tomorrow or Thursday. I have seen a number of Biden signs.

On the call for Texas Democratic Lawyers Association, I was told that the Biden campaign will be sending signs out by October 1.

TexasTowelie

(111,322 posts)
2. I suspect that there is an economic influence on displaying signs.
Wed Sep 16, 2020, 01:47 AM
Sep 2020

Apartment complexes are more likely to have Democratic leaning voters who might violate a lease by displaying a political sign while Republicans make up a larger share of homeowners that have property to display signs who are encumbered by regulations (although HOAs do interfere).

LeftInTX

(24,560 posts)
5. Law practices are great places for the 4 by 8's
Fri Sep 18, 2020, 01:47 AM
Sep 2020

Several law firms in San Antonio have large signs.

Paladin

(28,204 posts)
3. A Biden yard sign is just asking for vandalism from right-wing goons.
Wed Sep 16, 2020, 09:28 AM
Sep 2020

Biden's campaign has some money from me, and he damn sure has my vote. That'll have to do, for now.

There's a reason I keep a loaded gun in my home at all times.

hurl

(931 posts)
4. Signs are our lifeline here
Wed Sep 16, 2020, 10:23 PM
Sep 2020

The local D party in my rural, mostly red county decided to not obtain office space this cycle due to the pandemic (of course the GOP has a huge office). As a result, we are using the money we save on rent and utilities to fund a big promotion to deliver yard signs, bumper stickers, and buttons anywhere in the county free of charge (of course people are free to donate).

Normally, our community outreach takes the form of booths at small-town festivals that happen in most towns around the county every year. COVID cancelled all of those this year, so pretty much the only way people even know we exist is through yard signs.

Our original thinking was that if we could get just a critical mass of signs out there, showing D voters that they aren't completely alone, demand would start to pick up. Well it did more than that...

Demand has surprised us, and we have placed orders for hundreds more than we originally projected. Yes, we have had to replace a significant number of stolen signs, but we consider that a sign of GOP fear, and we're fine with it on that level.

We really have to work to even normalize Democrats around here, but it's a labor of love. We may not win elections in the county for the next few cycles, but we are making Republicans spend more than they expected to maintain their power, and we have early indications of becoming competitive in elections to come.

Yes it's true, yard signs don't vote... But at least here, they help us establish visibility among people who might have written us off otherwise.

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