Electoral Poster Festooning

Published on Substack, Friday, 9 May 2025

Electoral Commission: Postering Consultation Paper

The regulation of public spaces and amenities is currently insufficient or insufficiently resourced to reduce visual clutter, and the use of electoral posters results in particularly intense periods of visual clutter during election campaigns. The existence of local voluntary poster bans and restrictions indicates a public demand, suggesting that current regulations and adherence to them are not effective in mitigating the excessive number and size of electoral posters.

Clane Community Council: Election Poster Free Zone

Can curbing the excessive use of posters, which primarily serves a low-information function of announcing elections and identifying candidates, be moderated in a way that maintains fairness and affordability for all electoral candidates?

The visual clutter becomes even more problematic when many candidates are on a ballot paper, especially during concurrent local and EU elections. Significant numbers of the public struggle to differentiate between candidate listings for the EU and local elections. This indicates that the use of messages on posters does not clarify the nature of the candidacy or election in the minds of much of the electorate.

The inequitable application of restrictions or bans can lead to unfair opportunities for candidates. Other jurisdictions do not rely on excessive electoral posters in size or quantity.

Comparisons

In France, areas are limited to a specific number of standard-sized posters. In the UK, posters are generally restricted to private property.

In recent years, the frequency and severity of storms have left candidates anxious about maintaining posters in public areas so that they do not become a risk to the public or themselves.

Plastic and Energy Waste

The materials and energy costs from the production of large numbers of electoral posters, particularly plastic in the context of the proliferation of plastic waste, and re-processing costs, lead to conflicting messages to the public from the individuals who will play a role in policy adoption and adherence to rules/regulations.

Suggestions

The Electoral Commission is encouraged to further the work in limiting the excessive use of posters during election campaigns. This could include limits on quantities, sizes, and the use of public spaces. A syndicated public approach to conveying information about candidates using public websites, apps, noticeboards, booklets or other media messages could contribute to participatory fairness to candidates. In other countries, the voting card or candidate information is provided to voters. Publicly published constituency maps and candidate lists – perhaps using (QR) links to individual websites – with sufficient time ahead of elections would allow for more in-depth information sharing during elections.