Wyckoff's Campaign Sign Ordinance Is Unconstitutional: ACLU

WYCKOFF, N.J. — The American Civil Liberties Union has called a Wyckoff law regarding the display of political candidate signs unconstitutional. The ACLU has fought the law for years and, just recently, assisted a town resident with his battle against officials.

Stan Goodman has been fighting a township law prohibiting the posting of political lawn signs more than 30 days before Election Day. It also places restrictions on how big the signs can be.

Police told Stan Goodman's wife June 28 that the signs on the couple's lawn could not be displayed and were violating the law.

"When police come to your door and tell you to take down signs about your beliefs, it intimidates a community into silence," Goodman said in a statement. "This ordinance went much further than legislating aesthetics — it made people afraid to express themselves under the First Amendment. Someone had to do something, so I felt I had to step forward."

Goodman challenged the town’s enforcement of the sign ordinance with the ACLU-NJ’s help, and, for a time, the town stopped enforcing it.

After trying to resolve the matter with town officials, Goodman called Jeanne LoCicero, deputy legal director of the ACLU's New Jersey chapter. The ACLU wrote letters to town officials in 2012 and 2016 regarding the ordinance.

The Township Committee introduced an ordinance that would put its "unconstitutional sign restrictions," according to the American Civil Liberties Union, in line with state law. The remaining restrictions relate almost entirely to safety and public property.

The Township Committee is scheduled to hold a final vote on the ordinance Oct. 4.

"Year after year, we hear from residents about sign restrictions that go too far," LoCicero said. "Towns across the state need to review their sign ordinances to make sure they don’t include unlawful restrictions, because if they do, there’s a good chance they’ll hear from the ACLU."

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