713-662-3123
Campaign signs in Baytown, TX still move votes when they are built for the Gulf Coast, placed inside the law, and ordered in the right quantity for a local race. Whether you are running for Baytown City Council, a Goose Creek CISD board seat, a Lee College trustee spot, or a Harris County precinct office, the yard sign remains one of the cheapest ways to turn a name into recognition. This guide walks a first-time or returning candidate through the evidence, the Texas placement rules, and the sign specs that survive a summer of Baytown weather.
Houston Sign Company has printed political and campaign signage for local candidates since 1946, and everything below reflects how we spec real orders for the Houston metro.
Key Takeaways
- A four-election field study found lawn signs raise a candidate’s vote share by an average of 1.7 percentage points, enough to decide a close local race.
- Texas law bans political signs within 100 feet of a polling place door during voting and bans all signs in the highway right of way, so placement mistakes get your signs removed.
- Every political sign in Texas must carry a “political advertising” disclosure naming who paid for it.
- Baytown sees close to 49 inches of rain a year, so corrugated plastic (coroplast) is the material that holds up.
- Order double-sided coroplast in a readable size, plan for spillover into nearby precincts, and drive all sign traffic to a single order page.
Do campaign signs actually win votes in a Baytown race?
Measured sign effect, the placement law, and the weather the material must beat
Sources: Electoral Studies four-election field study; Texas Election Code; NWS via Current Results.
Yes, and the best evidence puts a number on it: a set of four randomized field experiments published in Electoral Studies in 2016 found that lawn signs increased a candidate’s vote share by an average of 1.7 percentage points (Green, Krasno, Coppock, et al., via Yale ISPS). That study, run with a congressional candidate, a mayoral candidate, an independent expenditure effort, and a county commissioner race, is the first hard experimental proof that signs do more than decorate a lawn.
In a down-ballot Baytown contest, 1.7 points is not a rounding error. Municipal and school board races here are often decided by a few hundred votes, and turnout in a May city election can sit in the low single-digit thousands. The same research also found the effect spilled over into neighboring precincts, so a well-placed sign works on more than the household that hosts it. Signs do not replace block walking, mail, or digital outreach. They compound it by keeping your name in front of voters every time they drive Garth Road, Decker Drive, or Texas Avenue.
Signs also do work that a knock on the door cannot. They signal local support, they cue early voters at the exact moment they are deciding, and they let supporters who will never make a donation still show a public endorsement.
What size and material hold up in Baytown weather?
Corrugated plastic, printed in a size a driver can read, is the standard for a reason. The Houston metro that wraps around Baytown records close to 49 inches of rain across roughly 103 days in an average year (Current Results, using National Weather Service data). Add Gulf humidity, hard sun, and coastal wind, and paper or foam board fails fast. Coroplast shrugs it off.
Houston Sign Company prints campaign signs on lightweight corrugated plastic that is built to handle typical outdoor conditions like wind, rain, and sun exposure, which is exactly the mix a Baytown yard faces from March through November. We stock nine sizes so you can match the sign to where it lives:
| Size (inches) | Best use in a Baytown campaign |
|---|---|
| 24 x 18 | The classic yard sign, ideal for supporter lawns |
| 18 x 12 | Tight infill lots and apartment rights of way |
| 24 x 24 | High-traffic corners along Garth Road or Decker Drive |
| 36 x 24 | Intersections and volunteer “sign farms” |
| 48 x 48 | Anchor locations and endorsement clusters |
We print full color, single or double sided, with square-cut or contour-cut edges and optional grommets. Double sided is worth the small upcharge on any corner where cars approach from two directions, because it doubles the readable impressions without doubling the sign count. Wire H-stakes are available so a volunteer can install a sign in seconds. You can review the full campaign sign and political yard sign lineup on our Houston page before you commit to a size.
Where can you legally place campaign signs in Baytown, TX?
Start with two hard lines the state draws, because breaking either one gets your signs pulled. First, you may not electioneer, which explicitly includes posting political signs, within 100 feet of an outside door a voter uses to enter a polling place while voting is underway (Texas Election Code Section 85.036). County election staff post distance markers at every Baytown-area voting site, so respect them.
Second, keep signs out of the highway right of way. It is illegal to place any sign in the right of way of a public road in Texas, and TxDOT will remove signs it finds there and bill the owner for the cleanup (TxDOT Campaign Signs guidance, under Texas Transportation Code Chapter 393). The right of way often runs several feet past the pavement and can include the sidewalk, the ditch, and the utility strip, so place signs on private property with the owner’s permission, set back from the road edge.
Third, label your signs. Texas requires a disclosure statement containing the words “political advertising” and the name of the person or committee that paid for the sign (Texas Election Code Chapter 255, enforced by the Texas Ethics Commission). Build that line into your artwork before you print, not after. Finally, check the City of Baytown sign ordinance for local rules on temporary sign timing and removal, since city code sits on top of state law inside the city limits.
How many campaign signs should you order, and when?
Order for saturation, not for a single lawn, because the vote lift depends on how many voters actually see the sign. Since the field research showed the effect reaches adjacent precincts too, coverage across a neighborhood beats a handful of scattered placements. A practical rule for a Baytown council or school board run: budget one supporter sign for every 15 to 25 committed households, plus a stock of larger signs for the intersections your voters drive daily.
Timing matters as much as count. Get artwork approved and signs printed at least three to four weeks before early voting opens, so you can place them the moment the law allows and have a reserve for replacements after storms and sign theft. Campaign signs start at $33.05 and ship from a Houston shop, so reorders during the sprint to Election Day are quick. You can build your run now on the campaign sign order page, and if you also need plain-color directional or event signage for a rally, our custom yard sign order page covers that in the same coroplast.
Design that reads at 35 miles per hour
A campaign sign has about two seconds to land, so design for the windshield, not the desktop. Use your last name large and bold, the office you seek, and at most one short tagline. High contrast wins: dark type on a light field or the reverse, never a busy photo behind text. Keep the design consistent with any directional and wayfinding signage you use on event day so voters connect the two at a glance.
We can print from your finished, print-ready file or you can lay out a sign in our online Designer Studio. Either way, proof the readability from across a parking lot before you approve the run. The same coroplast and design discipline carries over to related yard signs, from graduation yard signs for a supporter’s family to a neighbor’s real estate signs, which is why local candidates trust a shop that has printed all of them since 1946. You can read more about our history on our About Us page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are campaign signs worth the money for a small Baytown race?
Yes. Controlled field research found lawn signs add an average of 1.7 percentage points to a candidate’s vote share, and that margin can decide a low-turnout Baytown council or Goose Creek CISD race. At $33.05 to start per sign, the cost per recognized impression is among the lowest in local politics.
How close to a polling place can I put a campaign sign?
No closer than 100 feet from an outside door voters use to enter, during the hours voting is happening. Texas Election Code Section 85.036 treats posting a political sign as electioneering, and county staff mark the 100-foot line at each site.
What material should Baytown campaign signs be printed on?
Corrugated plastic, also called coroplast. Baytown’s near-49-inch annual rainfall, humidity, and coastal wind chew through paper and foam board, while coroplast is built for wind, rain, and sun and stays crisp through a full campaign season.
Do my campaign signs need a disclosure line?
Yes. Texas requires a “political advertising” disclosure naming who paid for the sign. Add that line to your artwork before printing so the whole run is compliant.
How fast can I reorder signs before Election Day?
Because the signs print and ship from a Houston-area shop, reorders during the final weeks are quick. Keep a reserve on hand for storm damage and sign theft, and place your first order three to four weeks before early voting.
Ready to print your Baytown campaign signs?
Get weatherproof, election-ready coroplast signs sized for Baytown streets and priced for a local budget. Start your order on the Houston Sign Company campaign sign page, or call our team at 713-662-3123. Serving Baytown and the greater Houston metro from 5801 Chimney Rock Rd, Houston, TX 77081 since 1946.
Published by the Houston Sign Company Team.