Lawn-sign wars: US voters use trackers, cameras to deter political theft

Washington: Tired of her Kamala Harris signs disappearing from her Springfield, Missouri, front yard, Laura McCaskill taped a tracking device to one to see where it might end up.

That led her to a blue Kia sedan in a nearby town, where a young man admitted he had stolen her sign, along with dozens of others, according to a video shot by McCaskill. "Um, yeah, so if you want them back they're right there," he said as he stood next to a trunk filled with Harris signs.

As the Nov 5 election between Harris and Republican Donald Trump draws near, people across the US are reporting a rash of yard-sign thefts – and turning to a range of remedies to stop them, from surveillance cameras and GPS trackers to low-tech solutions like glitter and hot peppers to deter would-be thieves.

"The sign game has changed. You can no longer steal and get away with it because guys like us are taking it pretty seriously," said Vincent Panico, a Republican deputy mayor in Readington, New Jersey, who used an Apple AirTag to track a missing yard sign ahead of a primary election earlier this year.

Police found it in the garage of a member of the town committee, John Albanese, a fellow Republican who has feuded with Panico in an intra-party power struggle. Albanese has pleaded not guilty.

His lawyer, Scott Wilhelm, said he was being targeted by Panico and other local rivals.

"They are doing whatever they can to try to get him off the governing body," Wilhelm said.

Campaign signs have been a fixture of the U.S. political landscape since the 19th century, but studies suggest they may not do much to bolster the fortunes of the candidates they advertise. "Yard signs don't vote" is a common mantra among political operatives.

Still, they are clearly a hit with voters. Roughly 1 in 10 Americans display yard signs for a presidential candidate, according to Florida International University professor Todd Makse, who found that those who display them are primarily interested in showing their political allegiances, rather than swaying undecided neighbors.

Clearly, some don't appreciate the display.

'You are stupid'

Indianapolis tech worker Lissa Smith said her Harris sign was stolen from her yard the night she put it up this summer. In its place was a white pillow with "YOU ARE STUPID" written on it.

Smith said she ordered four more campaign signs and posted a warning that any additional theft would prompt her to donate money to several left-leaning groups. Since then, she has made $180 in donations and spent close to $300 on security cameras. She said she has been heartened that some of her neighbors in her politically mixed neighborhood have asked where they could get Harris signs of their own.

"It's made me more confident in sharing my views," she said.

Matthew Hurtt, the chair of the Arlington, Virginia, Republican Party, said he had received more than 100 complaints of stolen Trump signs in his heavily Democratic area. He has been posting photos and videos of suspects online.

"It raises awareness that there are Republicans in northern Virginia and it raises the awareness of the intolerance of our neighbors," he said.

Yard signs can serve as a flash point in an era of heightened political tensions. A man in Topeka, Kansas, was convicted of aggravated battery last year for shooting at teens he suspected of stealing Trump signs before the 2020 election and in Michigan an avowed Trump hater ran over an elderly man who was replacing vandalized Trump signs.

Prosecution of sign thieves can be hard, officials say, given the low dollar value of the item stolen and the difficulty of identifying suspects who typically strike at night.

In some cases, the damages can be substantial -- at $20 apiece, the 60 Harris signs found in the car trunk in Missouri would cost $1,200 to replace.

But the damage extends beyond a sign's value, victims say, with some arguing that it violates their free-speech rights and can amount to political intimidation.

"You are disrespecting people's property, you are silencing their opinion," said McCaskill, the Missouri resident who filed a criminal complaint against the young man who admitted to taking her sign. He said he was inspired by a TikTok video.

Police say they are investigating the incident, and the young man's mother did not respond to requests for comment.

Those who are arrested can face serious penalties. Michael Shaw, 54, of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, faces up to 12 years in prison and $55,000 in fines after he was arrested for stealing signs and flags in what police said were 11 separate incidents. He did not return a call seeking comment.

In New Jersey, Panico's woes did not end with his rival's arrest. Republican signs have been disappearing again, though surveillance cameras have captured a different suspect – a school bus driver. Panico says he plans to speak to the man's employer.

"It's not great when you pull up in a pretty identifiable vehicle," he said.