Standing outside her Chelmsford home on Monday, Patricia Pestana giggles as she displays her handmade presidential campaign sign. “Harris-Walz 2024” is painted in large blue letters on a huge piece of plywood that is secured to the porch with a rope.

Meanwhile, in her yard on the quiet, calm Newfield Street, two posted signs warn: ‘Is Harris Stealing My Sign? Another donation for Harris!”

There’s a reason for all of this, as Pestana explains.

A few days earlier, around 3 p.m. on October 18th, Pestana proudly placed two of the most traditional Kamala Harris-Tim Walz campaign signs in her yard — one on each side of the corner where she lives. The 73-year-old and her husband went out to dinner that night, and when they returned home around 10 p.m., they found the signs supporting the Democratic presidential ticket gone.

The signs were only lit for hours before someone walked into their yard and stole them. Undeterred, Pestana took some blue paint and created her own mark, one that is much harder to steal.

“I feel like people are trying to intimidate us and silence us, and it’s very upsetting,” Pestana said, noting she has lived on Newfield Street for 40 years. “It reflects the terrible division in our country and the lengths some people will go to curtail free speech.”

Pestana reported the theft to Chelmsford Police and said she was told by an officer that such incidents were not uncommon in the area.

Also in Chelmsford, for example, a large campaign sign bearing the name of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump along Route 40 was cut with a sharp instrument. Up the road in Westford, a similar Trump sign was not only cut down, but defaced with red paint, bearing the message “Free Gaza!”

The theft and vandalism of campaign signs in Tyngsboro prompted Police Chief Shaun Woods to issue a statement on September 30 reminding community members that “these actions are not only illegal, but deeply counterproductive to the democratic values ​​we hold dear dear”.

“We’re asking all residents to remain respectful,” Woods said. “Disagreements are natural and healthy, especially during election season, but resorting to vandalism or theft is not the answer. Let’s channel our energy into constructive dialogue and the power to vote, rather than material damage and conflict.”

A quick search of the national news reveals that the theft and vandalism of campaign yard signs is a nationwide problem in this heightened and polarized election year.

The Kansas City Star reported Tuesday that a Missouri woman who had her Harris campaign signs stolen previously decided to hide an Apple AirTag on one in case it happened again. When the sign was stolen, she tracked down the alleged thief and discovered an SUV trunk filled with nearly 60 Harris/Walz campaign signs that had been plucked from yards.

The Tennessean reported on October 15 that Republican Party officials in Tennessee’s Wilson County are offering a $1,500 reward for information leading to the culprit or culprits behind the theft and ongoing vandalism of Trump and JD Vance campaign signs. One of the vandalized signs shown in the story had the word “Felon” spray-painted over Trump’s name.

John Cluverius, a political scientist at UMass Lowell, believes that the particularly tense atmosphere among voters, reflected in actions like the theft of campaign signs, is partly due to how incredibly close the presidential race is compared to previous elections. He noted that Hillary Clinton seemed well ahead of Trump on the eve of the 2016 election, while President Joe Biden appeared to have the 2020 election in hand.

UMass Lowell Center for Public Opinion conducted surveys in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. Cluverius said the only safe conclusion from the polls is that the race is very close.

“I think both sides think they have a very good chance to win, and both sides are very, very nervous about things going one way or the other,” Cluverius said. “When people feel like anything can happen, I think it really raises the temperature as we get closer to Election Day.”

Sign theft and vandalism are certainly nothing new, but with the prevalence of cellphones and security cameras, Cluverius noted, it’s become easier to record these crimes that might otherwise go unreported.

“I also think that in a long line of really pernicious political actions, it’s probably the least offensive, but it’s still something that makes people angry, especially when we’ve seen violent actions at the Capitol and two assassination attempts against one of the biggest. party candidates,” Cluverius added.

As for Pestana, no arrests have been made in connection with the theft of its signs. There was some good news though. On Tuesday, a neighbor informed her that he had found two Harris/Walz signs apparently discarded in nearby Varney Park. Believing them to be hers, Pestana placed them back in her yard, and as of Saturday afternoon, they remain there.

When asked what she would say to the suspect who stole her signs, Pestana expressed that she would question why they were denying her the right to express their opinion, while she would never deny them their right to express their opinion.

“Do you think stealing my signs will change my mind?” Pestana said. “It only strengthens my resolve.”

Follow Aaron Curtis on X, formerly known as Twitter, @aselahcurtis