Election Posters!

kingtut

So I see some election posters popping up around the place!

I find them to be quite the eye sore and a poster of a candidate saying "Vote me No.1" is less likely to make me vote for them. It's such a distraction when you are driving and many of them are placed in dangerous locations. Also hate that post-election they leave the cable ties in place and or scattered around the area. :mad:

Anyone else agree / disagree or am I alone in this?

Mc Love

Tried to argue this point on twitter with some candidates but they've all said they dont have a hope of being re-elected/elected without them.

stuckintipp

If you’re new to the area and you know nothing about the candidates one of the only ways to register in someone’s mind is through election posters. If members of the electorate engage in deep research and a superficial knowledge will get a higher preference.

zig

I think after this election that will be the end of them and they will be put in designated areas. There was a push to have a self imposed ban on postering this election but it was too little too late for the smaller candidates who had already invested in posters and had no time to prepare an alternative. But I do think after this election a new approach will be or must be taken.

is_that_so

zig wrote: »

I think after this election that will be the end of them and they will be put in designated areas. There was a push to have a self imposed ban on postering this election but it was too little too late for the smaller candidates who had already invested in posters and had no time to prepare an alternative. But I do think after this election a new approach will be or must be taken.

Who's going to do all of this? GE likely within 24 months. No way in hell any party will even look at it.

sioda

We should go with the Southern French system they have billboards in different areas and posters can only appear there and no where else without being fined. Also all posters must be the same size

keane2097

I think it's fairly well established that banning posters makes it much more difficult for less well-known candidates, independents and those from smaller parties to get elected, so good news for FG/FF mostly if they are banned if that's what you're into.

Personally they don't bother me too much as long as they are taken down after which they are by and large. Don't really see the big fuss. I could be swayed that there should be a limited number from each candidate allowed and probably for a shorter duration, but I don't really care too much having said that.

Mr E

I saw highway maintenance cutting down a poster at the Mackie roundabout this morning.

fryup

sioda wrote: »

We should go with the Southern French system they have billboards in different areas and posters can only appear there and no where else without being fined. Also all posters must be the same size

i'd be all for that

source

keane2097 wrote: »

I think it's fairly well established that banning posters makes it much more difficult for less well-known candidates, independents and those from smaller parties to get elected, so good news for FG/FF mostly if they are banned if that's what you're into.

Personally they don't bother me too much as long as they are taken down after which they are by and large. Don't really see the big fuss. I could be swayed that there should be a limited number from each candidate allowed and probably for a shorter duration, but I don't really care too much having said that.

Not if the source of information was the council, a simple website with all relevant information about voting with each candidate given a page to outline their policies and promises. This coupled with a designated area for posters would be sufficient to ensure the larger parties don't use their larger funds to take advantage, and everyone gets equal coverage.

Can be done on a national level for referenda and general elections also, and would give voters a one stop shop to learn all they need about who is running.

phog

kingtut wrote: »

So I see some election posters popping up around the place!

I find them to be quite the eye sore and a poster of a candidate saying "Vote me No.1" is less likely to make me vote for them. It's such a distraction when you are driving and many of them are placed in dangerous locations. Also hate that post-election they leave the cable ties in place and or scattered around the area. :mad:

Anyone else agree / disagree or am I alone in this?

Some were erected last night before 9, they weren't legally allowed until today. I hope they offenders are prosecuted.

kingtut

phog wrote: »

Some were erected last night before 9, they weren't legally allowed until today. I hope they offenders are prosecuted.

I saw some posters up at 8pm. Don't suppose you know how we can report it?

phog

kingtut wrote: »

I saw some posters up at 8pm. Don't suppose you know how we can report it?

If you took a photo and sent it the local authority before midnight last night then they could have acted on it but as the posters are now allowed by law to be there it would be difficult to prove they were erected before the legal timeframe.

It's the candidates/parties clearly giving the Local Authority and the public the two fingers as they no nothing will be done to them.

I regret not taking photos of the ones I saw and reporting them.

JamesBond2010

They were the solidarity party posters that were up last night

phog

JamesBond2010 wrote: »

They were the solidarity party posters that were up last night

There was a cross section of party/candidate posters where I saw them.

JamesBond2010

phog wrote: »

There was a cross section of party/candidate posters where I saw them.

Out raheen/mungret it was only them I saw

kingtut

JamesBond2010 wrote: »

They were the solidarity party posters that were up last night

I saw posters up for multiple parties at 8pm (stretching from the City centre to Ballycummin) with the Social Democrats being the most frequently on display (not sure if that is still the case as I haven't left Raheen today).

panda100

Why do election posters bother people so much? I genuinely don't get it! Could someone explain to me? I don't find them distracting when driving but maybe I'm unusual in that sense?

Eoinbmw

panda100 wrote: »

Why do election posters bother people so much? I genuinely don't get it! Could someone explain to me? I don't find them distracting when driving but maybe I'm unusual in that sense?

They are just Ugly and an eyesore to me!
Kind of an organised and legal littering!

Insect Overlord

There's a Fianna Fáil candidate with posters on every single pole from the petrol station at Grove Island to the lights beyond Hook & Ladder Corbally. It is utterly ridiculous.

source

panda100 wrote: »

Why do election posters bother people so much? I genuinely don't get it! Could someone explain to me? I don't find them distracting when driving but maybe I'm unusual in that sense?

They're ugly
They serve no purpose in a digital age
They often are removed after the election but not the cable ties
They are regularly poorly placed obstructing sight lines at intersections and roundabouts
There are 4 separate polls happening on the same day in May meaning 4 separate sets of posters
They tell us nothing about the candidate, their policies, their beliefs, how they stand on important matters etc

I've suggested earlier in this thread a method of replacing the posters which would not only give far more information to the voting public, but would be considerably less expensive for the candidates.

source

An example of poorly and dangerously placed campaign posters.

kilburn

That's shocking where is that

source

kilburn wrote: »

That's shocking where is that

It's one I found through a Web search, not sure how old it is but going by the road signs, somewhere in Kerry.

I'm sharing it to illustrate the point that they can be a very real danger to motorists when poorly placed.

JamesBond2010

panda100 wrote: »

Why do election posters bother people so much? I genuinely don't get it! Could someone explain to me? I don't find them distracting when driving but maybe I'm unusual in that sense?

Also in high wind like before tear off land on someone's windscreen & cause an accident or hit someone when they fly off a pole.block field of vision when coming out on to a major road

kilburn

Think Frankie Daly is going with the my poster is bigger than yours approach.....

kingtut

panda100 wrote: »

Why do election posters bother people so much? I genuinely don't get it! Could someone explain to me? I don't find them distracting when driving but maybe I'm unusual in that sense?

Hmmm off the top of my head:

They rarely tell you anything about the candidate
They are an eyesore
Big distraction when driving
Cable ties are usually left in place when the posters are removed
Often placed in hazardous areas
Organised litter and in the past many end up falling down and getting blown around by the wind

Also I know most candidates hire external companies / volunteers to put them up. I wonder if the candidates dictate where they are put or is just a "put as many up as you can" attitude? Either way I think it shows the candidates in a poor light.

Mc Love

kilburn wrote: »

That's shocking where is that

Looks like Tralee
Posters are not great for the environment, an interesting point was made yesterday on NT that in this age, we shouldn't be relying on plastic posters due to everyone including my technophobe mother having social media now. Ads on social media, in the print, on websites targeting users. I'm sure you can target specific age groups on social media and phone networks. In the past you organised a march or demonstration and people/reporters would go along and report and make their own decisions. You literally are learning nothing about a candidate from their poster
They are also unsightly and as someone said organised littering

LimerickCity

source wrote: »

It's one I found through a Web search, not sure how old it is but going by the road signs, somewhere in Kerry.

I'm sharing it to illustrate the point that they can be a very real danger to motorists when poorly placed.

It is on the way into Tralee town.

phog

panda100 wrote: »

Why do election posters bother people so much? I genuinely don't get it! Could someone explain to me? I don't find them distracting when driving but maybe I'm unusual in that sense?

Posters in themselves don't bother me too much but multiple posters poorly placed are a huge issue. The planning laws re posters in public goes out the window once an election is called and and my main gripe was that some parties/candidates clearly flaunt the law by putting up their posters before the deadlines.

In an age of social media should we still be so dependent on plastic posters - what purpose do they serve? Have you ever voted for someone because you only knew they were running for an election because you saw their poster?

When posters are removed post election the cable ties are often left in-situ, high winds can cause posters to be an danger.

BobMc

also I thought they're not allowed on any electric carrying poles no ???