These NJ voters more likely to decorate for Halloween sooner

Ghosts, goblins, and politicians. It's what's going to define our fall here in New Jersey for 2024. But when you stop and think about it, don't all three of those things go together?

Especially with Election Day separated from Halloween by only five days. In fact, why not just have the election on Halloween instead of November 5, 2024? After all, many of us will probably have chills down our spines as we watch the election results come in.

On second thought, maybe it's better we keep them separate. I mean, Halloween is all about spooky fun, not spooky tricks from those running for office in New Jersey or Washington, D.C.

OK, enough about that, let's focus on the matter at hand here. Is it possible to figure out what political party you belong to simply based on when you put your Halloween decorations up?

Are you ruby red if you're first on the block, or are you blue as the wind? Or perhaps, are you somewhere in between? As you might've guessed, there's a national poll that helps break this down.

Now I must quickly caution you that this poll, conducted by YouGov, wasn't specifically about any participant's political views. It was more about what you would consider the earliest acceptable time frame to put up your Halloween decorations.

There was, however, a demographic breakdown of those who voted that included religion, gender, age, income level, and yes, politics. But before we break down those results, let's first see what New Jersey thinks is the most appropriate time to display those Halloween decorations.

Now that we know how New Jersey feels, let's see how it compares nationally. What are the earliest dates that are considered acceptable to display Halloween decorations? And also, which political affiliation is more likely to put them up sooner?

The National Winner

Across the country, 67% overwhelmingly said that October was the prime month to put out those Halloween decorations. 16% believe that before October is appropriate, with only 6% saying Halloween decorations should never be displayed.

Breaking it down even more, 43% agreed that anytime between Oct. 1 and Oct. 15 is the absolute earliest Halloween decorations should be displayed, followed by 21% saying the absolute earliest should be between Oct. 16 and Oct. 30. Only 3% said decorations should only go up on Halloween itself (Oct. 31).

13% believe that anytime between Labor Day and the end of September is the absolute earliest, with 3% saying Halloween decorations are acceptable before Labor Day.

Halloween vs Politics

Now that we know that between Oct.1 and Oct. 15 is the absolute earliest the majority feel Halloween decorations should go up, is there a political lean to that? Which political affiliation is more likely to put those decorations out on display sooner?

Overall, it's the Democrats who are more likely to get those decorations out sooner rather than later, with 19% saying it's OK to have those Halloween decorations out on display anytime before Oct. 1.

Republicans, on the other hand, are only slightly behind that at 17%, with Independents at 14%. Again, this is only for those who feel before Oct. 1 is acceptable for Halloween decorations.

When you look at the results between Oct. 1 and Oct. 15, it's actually Independents who are more likely to get their decorations up first at 46%. That's followed by Democrats at 44%, and Republicans at 43%.

United for Halloween?

If this were a presidential poll, these results would most likely be considered within the margin of error. Simply put, the results confirm that there isn't much correlation between when we put up our Halloween decorations with how we politically lean.

We all seem to feel similarly when it comes to when we should be putting up those Halloween decorations, which is a really good thing considering the political climate we now live in today. A deeper analysis including gender, age, regional results, and more from the YouGov poll can be found here.

The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 Sunday morning host & content contributor Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.