Some are torn up by the wind. Others are shredded and mysteriously disappear.

One week from the Nov. 2 general election and despite pleas from the two major parties, political signs continue to be ripped from lawns and road fronts by overzealous citizens, angering voters who have undertaken extraordinary measures to keep their messages in place.

"When you go out there and brave the cold and rain to put those up, that's just taking away your freedom of speech," said Nadine Brown, a North Bend resident who said she had one of her two Kerry/Edwards signs stolen from her yard the past week and several others stolen just south of the McCullough Bridge. "We've been running out of signs."

Vandalism and theft of political signs occurs during each election cycle but this year it has become a state and national phenomenon that typifies the tense political season. Both parties' leadership groups say that the sign stealing has extended beyond the presidential race and infected all other races.

Oregon House and Senate candidates as well as local candidates are having to replace lost and stolen signs, shelling out more cash just to fill an inexpensive advertising hole.

Anita Conn, chairwoman of the Coos County Republican Central Committee, said Bush/Cheney signs and other GOP candidates including Al Pearn and Susan Massey have lost signs too - even one from her own front yard. In September, she issued a plea for residents to allow all signs to stand, cautioning that walking onto private property to damage or steal a sign can lead to theft or trespassing charges. Conn said the thefts appear about average for an intense election year but acknowledged that this election has been a bit more intense than some in the past.

"It's probably about par but this probably is the very most important election that we've ever had," she said. "That might have spurred it."

Some ardent voters have taken to creative measures to ensure their signs aren't stolen.

In some cases, residents have cut the stakes through heavy plastic, wrapped the material around the wooden double stakes and buried their signs in the ground. Others have bolted their political messages to ensure they won't be stolen.

Still, people are finding ways to steal hundreds of signs from either party.

"It's money, it's time ... and it's very disheartening when you've done something for your candidate and then go see somebody else tear it down," Conn said.

Mitzi Loftus, vice chairwoman of the Democratic Central Committee, said Kerry/Edwards, Joanne Verger and Arnie Roblan signs have been taken down nightly, only to be replaced by new signs that, eventually, also are being stolen.

"We're having people come in every day saying someone took my Kerry sign, I need a new one," said Loftus. "It seems like it's worse than before."

"We've never had them repeatedly taken like this. People come in and say I've had my sign stolen, twice," Loftus said.

Fred Neal, a spokesman for the Elections Division in the Secretary of State's Office, said a number of calls have been placed statewide for stolen or inappropriately placed signs, typical for a general election year. Neal said elections law isn't being broken so the department forwards the information to local law enforcement agencies or to the Oregon Department of Transportation.

"It's not a law we enforce so we don't keep a log of that," Neal said. "Obviously, it's an important election for a lot of people, not only candidates but there are a lot of measures as well."

In some cases, residents are misplacing blame for the missing signs on thieves or political statements when in fact it's the Oregon Department of Transportation that has taken them away.

ODOT allows temporary signs to be erected on private property within view of state highways but not within highway rights of way, on trees, utility poles or right of way fences. Signs also are prevented from being placed in designated scenic areas or park lands.

"If they're placed in a highway right of way it's usually our maintenance people," said Jeff Waddington, a 20-year permit specialist for ODOT in Coquille. "They take them to the maintenance shops and store them."

Owners can claim their signs and ODOT will allow them to retrieve them, Waddington said.