With two weeks until the general election, signs supporting candidates or urging Springfieldians to vote “yes” or “no” on certain amendments are as plentiful as a fall harvest.
That includes reports of campaign sign thefts, said Cris Swaters, public affairs officer with the Springfield Police Department.
“We have seen an increase in reports of political sign theft since August,” Swaters wrote in an email. Data on whether specific campaign signs were stolen more often than others was not immediately available.
Those considering stealing signs should be aware that there are legal consequences. Under MO 115.637, which outlines “class four election crimes,” stealing or intentionally damaging, mutilating or destroying a campaign sign on private property can result in a fine of up to $2,500, up to a year in jail, or both. Class four election crimes are felonies under the law.
“Historically, we don’t see many of these violations and we don’t think of them specifically,” Greene County Prosecutor Dan Patterson said in an email. He added that the outcome of a case depends on “the specific charge, its unique facts and the character and situation of the specific perpetrator.”
Zach Johnston, executive director of the Greene County Democrats, said there have been cases of entire neighborhoods coming in to replace their stolen signs.
“I would like people to stop stealing signs. I think they think that by stealing signs they are hurting the Harris-Walz campaign or the Democratic Party,” Johnston said. In reality, the sign thefts result in more donations. “It’s thousands and thousands of dollars.”
Neither candidate nor issue signs are safe from theft
Social media reports of stolen signs have attracted widespread attention in recent days, including one in which the owners of the signs tracked the alleged thief to a neighboring town.
Laura McCaskill said her Kamala Harris/Tim Walz campaign sign was stolen several times, so she and her partner John Cardoza attached an Apple AirTag to it. The AirTag allows iPhone users to track the tag with an app and is often used for keys, wallets or even pets.
In most cases, McCaskill and Cardoza would find the stolen sign near a dumpster. When their Harris/Walz sign went missing for the fourth time — along with many others in their Rountree neighborhood — McCaskill and Cardoza decided to track the AirTag again early Saturday morning.
This time it led them to two cars at a local restaurant, but Cardoza couldn’t tell which one had the tag. On Sunday, after the Kansas City Chiefs game, the AirTag led them to a home in Nixa, where they confronted the alleged thief.
They didn’t expect to find sixty Harris/Walz signs in the trunk of the car.
McCaskill posted a video on Facebook and on TikTok of her and Cardoza finding the signs. The video also shows her and Cardoza’s interactions with an 18-year-old man who opened the trunk of the car showing signs and the young man’s mother. In the video he says that he had nothing to do with the theft and that he lent his car to a friend. Later in the video, the young man says it was a TikTok trend, which the News Leader could not confirm, and that he is aware that neighbors have video recordings of him following the signs.
The young man shown in the video declined to comment for this story.
According to McCaskill, the signs were worth a combined $1,180. Under Missouri law, theft is considered a Class D felony if “the value of the property or services appropriated” is $750 or more.
She said she has filed a police report with the Nixa Police Department and SPD. McCaskill confirmed to the News-Leader that she plans to file a report due to the number of stolen signs and encouraged her neighbors to report the incident to Springfield police.
“This is a First Amendment right (to display political signals),” McCaskill said. You should not enter and confiscate other people’s property in the middle of the night and disrespect their beliefs… I don’t want to harm a young man and his life. But I want him to respect other people’s property and other people’s opinions, as he should.”
It’s not just the candidates’ signs that are included.
Christian County Sheriff Brad Cole posted on Facebook on October 3 about a “Vote NO on 3” sign that was stolen from his yard.
In the post he says he has the person on camera and gave him 24 hours to return his plate.
Five hours later, he updated his message to say that the woman who stole his sign had returned it and put a note on it. According to an image accompanying the message, the note read:
“Agent Cole,
“I want to apologize for stealing your sign. I hope that if this amendment is stopped, you will apologize to the women and girls whose (sic) rights YOU STEAL.
“Thank you for the opportunity to correct my mistakes, it’s never too late to correct yours!
“Love, girl who stole your plate.”
In an update to his Facebook post, Cole wrote: “All I have to say is you don’t have to agree with me or vote the way I want to, but respect my beliefs and I will respect yours. “
He advised people to keep in mind that “no matter which side of the aisle you are on, taking a political sign is stealing and prosecutable.”
“If you are caught stealing signs in Christian County, we will ask the prosecutor to file charges against you,” Cole said in an emailed statement.
This article originally appeared on the Springfield News-Leader: A Springfield couple tracks down a stolen campaign sign and finds more
