'Elect Butts:' Fake election signs leave Raleigh residents puzzled
With midterm elections approaching, there are plenty of election signs by the side of the road pushing certain candidates, but some fake signs have also been spotted around Raleigh.
Signs spotted on Six Forks Road say, "These signs are dumb" and "Elect Butts, what have you got to lose?"
The signs are slowing traffic on the busy road, but while many initially expected them to be part of a marketing or campaign strategy, the signs don’t include a website or phone number.
"Is that person named Butts or is that a joke," one woman asked of the signs.
Although a man named Emmitt Butts ran for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board in 2017, no person with that last name is listed as a candidate in any election this year.
For now, the person or organization behind the signs is a mystery, and that has people asking questions.
“These signs are dumb. ‘Elect Butts?’ I don’t know,” another woman said. “It doesn't make a lot of sense.”
The signs have been a source of smiles for many residents who said they couldn't help but laugh.
"All of a sudden, I saw that one and I was like, "OK, what a way to put some humor into the election season coming up," Darryll Hall said.
More serious constituents, however, said they didn't find the signs humorous at all.
There's speculation that the point of the signs may be to bring more attention to the upcoming election, encouraging residents to go cast their vote.
The Wake County Board of Elections said the parody signs are protected by the First Amendment and are not regulated.
