An onslaught of theft and vandalism targeted the roadside signage of several federal election candidates over the weekend, one day before Yukoners cast their votes.

“This affects everybody, it affects all five political parties and all the people who are volunteering,” NDP Leader Kate White, the MLA for Takhini-Kopper King, told the Star this morning.

White found vandalized signs in two areas: on the Klondike Highway – near the Alaska Highway – and at the Whistle Bend roundabout.

A large NDP sign in the MacPherson subdivision was stolen and the wooden framing knocked down. Another NDP sign on a hill off the Alaska Highway near the Klondike Highway was vandalized.

White posted photos to her Facebook page of the vandalized Liberal, Green and New Democratic Party signs with an accompanying statement urging Yukoners to find more constructive avenues to express their political ideas.

“I think people could put their energy toward volunteering toward a campaign, or actually voting,” White said this morning.

She expressed concern that some Yukoners might assume public tax dollars are put toward campaign signs.

“I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding about how campaigns actually work,” White said.

“People have this perception that campaigns are paid for by “them” without understanding that political campaigns are often paid for by people in the community.

“When things get vandalized, it’s a lot of time and energy from people doing things that they’re passionate about.”

White added that though only three parties’ signs were vandalized, the act adversely affects volunteers from all five campaigns.

“It does feel deeply personal, for any person who volunteers with any political party,” she said.

Whoever was committing the acts of vandalism, she said, did not have a campaign affiliation because no volunteer would endorse vandalism regardless of political stripes.

A representative from the NDP campaign team said they feel “disappointment” with the turn of events.

“All of the political parties have worked very hard on running their campaigns,” the NDP representative said in an email statement.

“Sign theft and damage doesn’t bring one of us down, it brings us all down.”

Susanne Hingley, the Green Party campaign manager, agreed that the vandalism is harmful to hard-working volunteers.

“It hurts the volunteers who work tirelessly to promote democracy,” Hingley said. “It hurts communities who would rather not be bullied into voting one way or another.

“It also points to a bigger problem with our current electoral system where leaders are pit against each other in an increasingly noticeable way.”

Liberal campaign manager Brad Weston confirmed to the Star that several of their signs were pushed over in the Mountainview/Whistle Bend area, but declined further comment.