Up with election posters

Sir, – Jason Power (Letters, November 9th) questions if election posters have ever changed anyone’s mind, and mentions Mike Cubbard’s election in Galway City Central in 2024 without using posters.

But he omits to mention that Mike Cubbard is a sitting councillor who was previously elected in 2014 and 2019, was the city mayor from 2019 to 2021, and also ran in the 2011, 2016 and 2020 general elections. Mike Cubbard has excellent name recognition and the advantage of incumbency to secure his re-election. An advantage that would be denied to new candidates without having posters to gain voter attention.

Anthony Hanrahan (Letters, November 9th) makes a valid point that we are surrounded by advertising already. Case in point, every couple of months I see posters on lamp-posts for the funfair when it comes to Swords. If advertising doesn’t work, why are our newspapers filled with them? Why are so many advertising leaflets dropped in our letterboxes?

Election posters and leaflets are an important and indispensable part of our democratic process and proof that we live in a free and democratic society. If you don’t like them and are unable to tolerate their existence for a few weeks, then you probably don’t like elections. – Yours, etc,