Candidates love them, the Outdoor Circle hates them, and residents' feelings range from support to apathy. But every election year, campaign signs come back.

The reason? Name recognition is crucial for candidates, and campaign signs often are the cheapest, easiest way for them to reach voters.

So again this year, clusters of signs hang from trees, hedges and fences at busy intersections throughout the state.

Kalihi resident Sally Wong, 73, has lived on the corner of North School Street and Likelike Highway for 38 years. Her hedge, which overlooks the intersection of these two busy streets, is virtually hidden by a colorful collection of about 20 campaign signs and banners endorsing candidates ranging from incumbent Gov. Linda Lingle to state House District 30 competitors John Mizuno, Terry Visperas and Charmaine Crockett.

Wong said she does not know or necessarily support any of the candidates.

"The people who are campaigning, they put them up. They ask permission. But a few, they just sneak theirs in," she said with a laugh. "But we prefer that they ask."

The number of signs so far this year hasn't been as big a problem as in other recent election seasons "because the races lack the heat" of previous elections, said Bob Loy, director of environmental programs at the Outdoor Circle.

This year, the organization began a new direct-outreach effort to candidates in a bid to regulate the number and size of political signs, and that appears to be having an impact, too.

While the signs are widely condemned as blight on Hawai'i's natural beauty, they often are the most effective way for candidates on limited budgets to get their names out to the voting community.

"We do think that they are legitimate up to a point," Loy said. "They let individuals in small communities let their neighbors know which candidates they support, but at the same time we think that campaign signs have overtaken substantive discussions about candidates' stances on issues."

Because "sign wars" often become vigorous, especially when a race is hotly contested, Loy contends that ultimately "they (campaign signs) cheat voters in terms of learning who might actually be the best candidate to represent their district."

Republican Party executive officer Sam Aiona disagrees.

"In politics, name recognition counts for a lot," Aiona said last week, "so we encourage candidates to use signs to get their names out there." As for the signs' efficiency, he said "there have been examples of races in the past where the person with the most popular name would win."

Democratic Party executive officer Clay Springer also supports the signs.

"I think that they are a way for a candidate to gain exposure in the community," Springer said. Neither party has any guidelines or policies for their candidates concerning the signs. "That is a matter for the individual candidates," Springer said.

For Brian Kunishige, owner of Kuni's Automotive and Towing in Waimanalo, the signs don't play any role in an election. "When I'm driving, I don't even look at the signs, no matter where I'm driving," he said.

The fence lining the yard of his auto shop holds more than 30 signs and banners endorsing 10 candidates that he does "not necessarily" support.

"Most (people), they never even ask," Kunishige said of people posting signs on his fence. He allows the signs to remain, however, because "it's been our fence for so many years now, it's become Waimanalo's fence to put signs up."

It's a matter of business and community for Kunishige, who said the signs appear every election. "We just let the people go because they give us business, so we help them out."

Wong isn't so sure about the effectiveness of the signs that hang on her hedge.

"I don't know if it's a good way, but it's one way (to campaign)," she said, laughing. "But it's a busy corner, yeah?"

Kane'ohe resident Godfrey Chun is also less than positive about the value of the signs lining his fence, which faces a large intersection at Windward City Shopping Center. "It's better than nothing," he said of the signs' power to garner votes.

Like Wong, Chun allows any campaigner who asks permission to place their signs. All three candidates on his wall are vying for the U.S. House seat in the 2nd Congressional District.

And like Wong and Kunishige, Chun does not personally endorse the candidates on his wall. "I don't know them," he said.

Campaign sign practices that include the placement of yard signs and roadside sign waving are a traditional part of Hawai'i's election process.

A state law limiting the use of signs on private property to 45 days before and 10 days after election day was nullified in the early 1990s by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling because it infringed on residents' and private business owners' rights to free speech.

While this ruling means that there is no way to enforce any time limits, The Outdoor Circle still has asked candidates to limit signs to the 45-day runup period to the election — which began Aug. 10 — and the 10 days after. The group also has suggested maximums for sign size and total area of signage per residence.

As for the overall number of signs, Loy notes that he has not seen as many as in past years. "I'd say that there are pockets of heavy, intense sign posting, but it looks to me overall that because there's no heated mayor's race, that the impact is less."