Watch out for illegal signs

especially, the day or two before the election.

This happened in Gainesville during the primaries and I am sure it has happened in other places and that it will happen again.

First, there are very clear laws regarding political outdoor signage. It varies from place to place but in general the group or person paying for the signs, must be clearly stated in small print on the sign.

What the dishonest repugs like to do is print up political signs, attacking their opponent and then wait until the last minute to put them out. For example: KERRY ATE BABIES IN VIETNAM Of course, these signs do not identify who sponsored or paid for them. It is therefore almost impossible to find out who is actually behind these signs.

Between now and the election if folks find any illegal signs, please post it on DU. The printers and graphics arts companies who are willing to do this kind of work are breaking the law, as well as the people who contract this work. Bush & Co have a lot of friends who own graphics companies who specialize in these kind of jobs. We need to bust the people who are going to pull this crap and limit the damage that these signs are meant to inflict.

If you see illegal signs, just call your local Supervisor of Elections. It is their job to take the signs down and to try to find out who paid for them. Thanks.

I assume you mean on public property?

I know there are limits placed because of polling places but signs anywhere?

Because otherwise it seems like a free speech violation to me.

And I can't put a political sign on my lawn until two weeks before the election.

I had no idea....

Thanks for the anecdote.

... and it's pretty troubling, to say the least.

I could be convinced that a limit on the size of the sign, or the number of weeks any one sign could be in place, would be legitimate.

But the "no signs" edict seems like a slippery slope.

two weeks before the election.

Each community makes their own rules.

By "no signs," I meant it's troubling that there are huge swaths of time when no signs are permitted. In the age of year-long campaigns, two weeks seems like a blip.

:)

Doesn't make it legal.
Lots of local ordinances are completely illegal - you need to check your state law - it preempts local ordinances.

As a cyclist, I found out about this because lots of communities have laws regulating bicycles on streets when the state law in California clearly states that communities only have the right to regulate bicycles on sidewalks and sidepaths.

about the merits of local sign ordinances.

The issue I was trying to raise, has to do with signs that Attack an Opponent and are put out right before the election, like a hit and run. All of a sudden, they pop up all over the place and it is so close to the election the person being attacked doesn't have time to defend themselves from the attack. These are the kind of sign that are at issue and that people need to look out for.

Each community has their own versions of these laws but in general, all political signs must be clearly marked who sponsored and/or paid for the sign.

You can only put signs out within a certain period of time for instance, two months before the election.

In my community, political signs are only allowed on private property. In other communities, signs can be place on any public street corner or intersection.

Most community have restrictions on the size of the signs.

Etc.

It may be that the local code enforcement or planning department office is responsible, along with the local and state DOT, for removal of illegal signs.

For instance, in my community the ordinance reads as follows:

(13) Political campaign signs. Signs announcing candidates seeking public office or relating to any election or public referendum shall be permitted in all districts subject to the following provisions:
a. Such signs shall not exceed four (4) square feet in size nor four (4) feet in height;
b. Such signs are confined wholly to placement on private property and are prohibited from the public right-of-way;
c. Such signs shall not be erected more than 30 days prior to the election and shall be removed within seven (7) days after the primary or election has been held;
d. Such signs shall not be attached to trees, rocks, or other natural features.


There are two main problems: 1. excessive size and 2. placing signs in the public right-of-way. These large signs can pose hazards for drivers, bikers and pedestrians when placed within the intersection sight distance triangles. In my area, the progressive community has county workers assigned to go around and remove illegal signs. You can retrive them from the impound area for $30/sign! As a result, there are not that many illegal signs. However, in the surrounding conservative counties, the ruling Republicans and the DOT pretty much ignore all of the illegal signs.

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

In most towns, you cannot place signs in the public easement (the strip of land between the sidewalk and the street) - it can create a traffic hazard.

In Pueblo, the public works department goes around pulling out illegally-placed signs. They bring them to the city garage, sort them by candidate, and then call the candidates to tell them to come pick up their signs.

I live in a covenent-protected community outside Pueblo, and cannot put up any yard signs until next Tuesday. And then I have to take them down 48 hours after the election.

... might be the best recourse, but ONLY if it's on public property. Any action the local authorities take -- and, as you note, there's not much they can do -- will come way too late.

Is removing such a sign "wrong"? No, I'd argue, it's an effort to right a wrong.

Besides, signs on public property are a roll of the dice anyway. I'd stop my car and tear down a swastika if I saw one on land the we all own. If I felt that something crossed the line from straightforward political speech to the truly vile, I'd have no qualms about junking it, consequences be damned.

has a patrol that takes down illegally placed signs. Signs put up in public right of ways usually get taken down within a couple of days. I'm sure that many communities have these types of patrols. You can call your local DOT or police dept to find out what they do about illegal signs.

I'll have my Kerry sign up. They have to park in front of my house to vote.