On the night of July 2, four yard signs, prepared by the Keep Democracy Alive (KDA) Alliance, were taken from a 150-foot frontage shared with my neighbor along North Road. The organization is a non-partisan alliance of nine Island organizations that are reaching out to underserved regions of the U.S. to encourage potential voters to register, and tp remid registered voters to be sure to vote. It is noteworthy that different yard signs along North Road promoting union involvement in SSA negotiations or saving our seas remained untouched. It is disturbing that the open practice of democracy elicits clandestine and cowardly stealth in the dark.

Our experience with stolen signs is not new. In a Black Lives Matter campaign over the period from 2021 through 2023, at least six, “Only You And I Can End Racism” signs were taken at night from our property. Poignantly, in the current Keep Democracy Alive initiative, one of our yard signs reads, “Will Democracy Survive? It’s Up To You.”

Bob Reardon, co-founder, Keep Democracy Alive.