Campaign Signs: Are They Helpful Or Just Eyesores?

BIRMINGHAM, AL - Every election year brings with it an onslaught of television ads, radio spots, direct mail and of course hundreds - if not thousands - of campaign signs posted along the state's roadways. While signs in people's yards have not drawn the criticism of residents in Birmingham's neighborhoods, signs placed along the roadsides throughout neighborhoods and commercial areas have brought about some questions as to what guidelines are in place regarding campaign advertisements.

One Birmingham resident, Sarah Hale, said she has taken as many as 50 signs down in the last few months that have been placed at the intersection of her street and a main road in her neighborhood. "This, I guess, is city property, but it is next to my yard, and I think it just looks awful," Hale said. She said she has brought the issue to the attention of her neighborhood association, but was told to address the problem with either the politicians themselves or with the Secretary of State.

"There are at least 10 different candidates that keep putting up these signs, so I am not calling each and every one," she said. "Surely there is a law about how many of these can be put in one place."

While Hale is not alone in her complaint, the reality is that there are not statewide laws in Alabama that regulate where signs can be placed and how many can be posted.

"Individual communities can certainly place their own restrictions on signs, but on the state level, there are no rules that regulate campaign signs," said Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill. He said, in addition, there is no rule that states when the signs must be taken down when an election is over.

"There are still signs from elections that ended years ago along our state highways," Merrill said. While most candidates do end up taking their own signs down after an election, they are not required by law to do so, Merrill added.

"I make sure that mine are removed in a timely manner," Merrill said. "And I think you will find that most candidates have the courtesy to remove them, or get campaign volunteers to do it."

One concern that was voiced at a recent Crestwood Neighborhood Association meeting was the volume of campaign signs this year as opposed to years past. Merrill said he agrees that this election year has brought a higher volume of signs. "I am just going on what I have seen, but I do think you see more this year than ever," he said. Merrill said there could be an explanation for that. "The high cost of t.v. ads means a tight campaign budget goes toward signage, rather than other forms of advertising," he said.

"It is not that there are that many more people running, although this year that could be the case, but candidates are using that form of campaigning over t.v. or radio ads."

That said, are political campaign signs advantageous to candidates? A 2015 study by Columbia University found that “lawn signs increase voter share by 1.7 percentage points on average, a positive increase, but not a large one.”

Merrill said concerned citizens should look into their local ordinances regarding campaign signs to determine if any violations have occurred. As well, candidates are responsible for knowing the local guidelines regarding campaign signs before distributing them. The Department of Transportation also has regulations in place regarding where signs can be displayed along state highways and interstates.

Under Alabama Code Section 23-1-6, signs, markers and advertising on the rights-of-way of state controlled highways are prohibited except those official signs or markers placed in the right of way by the State Department of Transportation or under its authority.

Alabama state law allows only authorized regulatory signs or signs that ALDOT gives special permission for to be placed in road’s right of way. Any object placed in the right of way that does not have special permission from ALDOT is illegally placed. This includes political candidate signs, according to the state code.

Photo by Michael Seale/Patch