What's the point of political yard signs?

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) - Several candidates are stepping up efforts to get their messages out to voters. One popular tool that campaigns use is the yard sign.

They may be small, but they're hard to miss. Political yard signs have been popping up around election time for years. But what's the point of the pint-size billboards?

"If I see someone with a sign in their yard it's not going to sway my judgment," one voter told Local 5. "I already know who I like, who I don't like, so seeing a yard sign isn't going to change anything."

But political experts say the message is deeper. David Littig sees the signs as a way of marking territory for both the candidate and the voter.

"It's really a way of telling people who walk by, my candidate's got this vote," Littig explained.

And for the person seeking office..

"The key factor for a voter to know when they go into the booth is name recognition," he said. "and what these yard signs do is they give people name recognition."

That's why Littig said political signs are most effective in smaller, local races because most of the candidates are unknown. However, he said they can play a major role in high profile races, too, such as the upcoming recall election.

But Littig said we were seeing a break from traditional sign use earlier this year when Walker signs spanned yards even before there was talk of a recall.

"We saw that after, in Madison, the protests with the Walker debate," explained Littig. "The amount of homemade signs. That tells you the person has gone the extra mile."

Whether they are a show of support or frustration, it looks like the signs will be sticking around.