WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) – Illysa Harms supports the "Value Them Both" amendment. She even displays a yard sign telling people to vote yes in her front yard. That one however is her second one, after her first was stolen recently.

"It was just very disappointing to come home and see that somebody had messed with my sign, not even in the right of way, but on my own personal property," she said.

When it comes to divisive topics like the "Value Them Both" amendment, which would change the state's constitutional protections on abortion, allowing the legislature to pass laws banning the procedure, Dr Neal Allen, a political science professor at WSU says sign stealing could be pretty common.

"You have so many signs in people's yards, about value them both, if somebody's going to steal some and it's either a stupid act of vandalism, or a useless act of political activity."

If you are thinking about stealing signs you might want to rethink your plan. Under Wichita city code, it is considered petty theft, which can lead to a fine of up to $2,500 or up to one year in jail.

While sign stealing is illegal, Dr Allen says it could also be counterproductive to those taking the signs “because now a bunch of people are going to think that pro-choice activists are thieves, where in reality, the vast majority of people that care about abortion would never steal somebody's sign out of somebody's yard.”

Allen adds that in the big picture of an election, yards signs are probably not going to sway someone's vote.