Sir, – You would be amazed at the number of people who are still unaware of the pending election. For those who have noticed, who the specific candidates are running in each constituency can remain a mystery. If advertising works so well for industrial and commercial interests, take it that advertising works for candidates too. The cheapest source of public notice is the basic poster. It carries the necessary information: name, photo, party and constituency. It has been shown in academic studies that posters help voters decide and can and do increase turnout. Of course more expensive forms of advertising are available, but posters in bus shelters, railway stations and commercial hoardings come at a hefty price. If we want full participation in our election, we need the election poster. – Yours, etc,
NIAMH BREATHNACH,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Election candidates should desist from ruining the environment with the eyesore of election posters hanging on every pole. They might employ street artists to draw their images and slogans in organic chalk directly onto the pavement instead. This approach would put the political message directly into the eye line of the multitude of “petextrians” who never look up from their mobile phones as they walk.
It would be a walkover. – Yours, etc,
ULTAN Ó BROIN,
Florence.