I conducted the latest edition of my heralded Inkstain Yard Sign Survey this afternoon. The survey area this year is the two neighborhoods I happened to wander through on the last leg of my bicycle ride, shortly after the thought occurred to me. Actually, the idea occurred to me early in the ride, when I rode past the big Obama sign on Indian School Rd. near the golf course, but I didn’t count that one because it didn’t fit into my rigorous methodology, as described below. Plus, I forgot to look for more signs until later.
First, the demographics. Neighborhood one is sorta lower middle class. Neighborhood two is sorta upper middle class. The total length of neighborhood streets ridden is a mile, or maybe two. I counted every yard sign I happened to notice, and occasionally looked down side streets. The results:
- two people want me to vote for Hillary Clinton
- one person wants me to vote for Barack Obama
- six people want me to buy their house*
From this data set, I conclude two things
- The turnout for Tuesday’s New Mexico primary/caucus thing will be extremely low.
- The housing market is an important issue.
* This does not include the two “open house” signs attempting to lure me off of my carefully chosen route to see houses for sale elsewhere. But I do find their presence significance. I mean, who holds an open house on Super Bowl Sunday? These people are desperate to sell.