LawnStarter’s 6 Favorite Presidential Yard Signs of 2016

By now, voters in Iowa and New Hampshire must be sick of seeing presidential candidates’ yard signs (and the candidates themselves). But those do signs work — at least a little bit.

In four separate experiments, researchers found that yard signs can boost a political candidate’s share of the vote by an average of 1.7 percentage points. So these signs provide only a small bump, but a bump nonetheless. The researchers said the positive effect of the signs is “unlikely to be large enough to alter the outcome of a contest that would otherwise be decided by more than a few percentage points.”

Still, a few percentage points could swing an election in favor of one candidate over another. Given that reality, political yard signs are here to stay for the foreseeable future.

In the spirit of celebrating all things yard-related, LawnStarter scoured the Internet in search of presidential campaign signs that stand out. We’re equal-opportunity fans and offenders here at LawnStarter, so some of our choices might please you and others might piss you off. Here are the six signs we voted for.

6. Cthulhu for President

Wait a minute! This Cthulhu character isn’t running in the Iowa caucuses or the New Hampshire primaries. So what’s he doing on this list?

The image above shows a mockup of a campaign sign for Cthulhu’s mock presidential campaign. For the undoctrinated, Cthulhu is a cosmic, monstrous entity created in the 1920s by horror, fantasy and sci-fi writer H.P. Lovecraft.

Good luck, Cthulhu!

5. Bernie 2016

This no-frills campaign sign for Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders perfectly exemplifies the candidate’s no-frills style. We’re 99.99 percent sure this sign is handmade, which certainly complements Sanders’ unorthodox campaign.

4. IDK Not Trump Tho 2016

All right, so Donald Trump may enjoy tons of support among the GOP faithful, but not everyone cherishes the billionaire, as this sign indicates. We’re certain The Donald would have some choice words to say — most likely on Twitter — about this anti-Trump statement.

3. Hillary for Prison 2016

Just as Trump has his detractors, so, too, does Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton. Exhibit No. 1: this “Hillary for Prison 2016” yard sign. Apparently, some critics want Hillary to trade her trademark pantsuits for orange jumpsuits.

2. Palin Voldemort 2016

According to U.S. News & World Report, homeless rights activist Jason King came up with this yard sign promoting the fake presidential ticket of Sarah Palin, the GOP’s 2008 candidate for vice president, and Lord Voldemort, the evil wizard from “Harry Potter.” Now that Palin has thrown her support behind Trump, we’re betting this “dream ticket” has dissolved.

1. Trump Photo Billboard

OK, so this isn’t your traditional yard sign for a presidential candidate, but we’ve still got to applaud George Davey for his ingenuity. Davey put up this lighted homage to Trump in the backyard of his home in suburban Des Moines, Iowa. We know Trump favors stuff that’s “huge,” so is this sign huge enough for The Donald? Probably not.