Leave the election signs alone
Editorial

York regional Police issued a media release Monday, reminding people that it's against the law to remove, alter or damage any of those numerous election signs that are going to be sprouting until Oct. 10.

We're really not surprised the the local police saw the need to issue such a statement, but we are disappointed. That is especially the case in light of fact that they reported there have already been cases in the last week of signs being stolen or damaged, sometimes with a mess being left behind for someone else to clean up.

There are some who believe these election signs are eyesores, and we can sympathize with that. But they have also become a key part of the electoral process, representing, for a couple of weeks at least, a sort of visual representation of vox populi. Putting up with what only might constitute visual pollution for a couple of weeks is a small price to pay for this little reminder that we live in a democracy.

Besides, candidates and campaigns have become a lot more responsible over the last several years, with solid efforts efforts being made to get the signs down as quickly as possible after the election is in the books. The coming election is scheduled for a Wednesday. If there are any elections signs still standing by the following weekend, we will be very surprised.

The other motivation for messing with candidates' signs is basically political, as people with a grudge against a certain candidate have to get destructive. And it is possible that supporters of one candidate can go out and damage their own signs, in the hopes that members of a rival camp will get the blame.

It's hard to legislate either common sense or class. The best we can do is appeal to everyone to respect these signs as other people's property and leave them alone, and hope the police can catch those who are stupid enough to violate them.

If you really have a problem with one of the people in the running, there are several legitimate things you can do, like volunteer for one of the candidates who's more to your liking. Better still, make sure you get out on election day and vote for someone.