Lansing - Billboards touting Bush-friendly messages have caught the attention of some residents, but many say the advertisements aren't likely to affect their votes.

"People vote their political party, not their political mind," said Rae Herig, president of the House of Car Stereo, 5101 S. Pennsylvania Ave. in Lansing.

Sign slogans, such as "Boots or Flip-Flops" and "It's Your Money" are a great way to display the president's messages, Herig said. But he added that the signs will have little impact on voters.

Outside of Herig's store, the words "One Nation Under God" are emblazoned on a billboard sign.

"When you own the billboard company, it doesn't cost you much to put the billboards up," said Herig.

At least 32 Bush-friendly signs owned by Adams Outdoor Advertising are scattered throughout the Lansing area, said Angela Easterday, company market scheduler for Lansing. That number of advertisements is meant to reach 100 percent of the local population, she said.

The advertising company's owner, Stephen Adams, is responsible for the pro-Bush slogans on his signs, Easterday said.

Adams could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.

This type of billboard campaign is new to Rich Robinson, executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group concerned with monetary influence on campaigns in Michigan.

"Certainly in my experience, I haven't seen anything quite like this," Robinson said.

But he added that Adams' strategy is perfectly legal.

"An individual is free to spend as much as they want as long as they report what they are doing," he said. "We can look forward to him to report."

Individuals spending $250 or more to support a political candidate must report money spent to the Federal Elections Commission, said FEC spokesman George Smaragdis.

Adams Outdoor Advertising's largest signs can be rented for $400-750 a week, depending on the amount of motorist traffic near the sign, said Lansing account executive Tim Craven, adding that the second largest sign size can cost $750 a month.

Robinson added that to continue his status as an individual who promotes the president, Adams must remain independent of political parties.

"Under federal law, he is prohibited from coordinating with the campaign," he said.

According to the officials with the state Republican Party, Adams has not contacted them or the Bush-Cheney campaign.

"We had nothing to do with those," party communications director Chris Paolino said. "The first time I knew anything about it was when I drove past it."

Paul Pratt, chairman for the Ingham County Democratic Party, said the signs will energize both local Democrats and Republicans.

"They are so obnoxious that they fire our side up pretty well," Pratt said. "This kind of obnoxious stuff is exactly why we are against Bush."

The signs aren't likely to impact many voters, he added.

"I don't think there's much of an impact in terms of moving people towards Bush," Pratt said. "It really looks like somebody feels as though the hardcore base of the Republican Party needs to be energized."

But Larry Ward, chairman of the Ingham County Republican Party, said the billboards are intended to raise awareness rather than sway voters.

"I don't think that people make their judgment based on a billboard," Ward said, adding that most voters have made up their minds already.

Jamie Britten of Lansing also said the signs are more humorous than persuasive.

"They're a joke. They're silly," she said. "A billboard's not going to make or break my decision, who I'm voting for."

But she said she was impressed by other signs in her neighborhood.

"The signs in lawns (impact) because these are actual residents that are saying, 'This is who I'm voting for,'" she said.