A recent article in the Indiana Daily Student about Pamela Davidson, a local Democrat who took down signs that urged people to vote Republican, got me thinking: Where did all these signs come from?
They’re everywhere. I think they say something along the lines of “Fed up? Vote Republican,” and they’re so pervasive around town that I see them in my sleep.
These signs aren’t supporting a candidate in particular. They simply tell us to vote Republican.
It’s not what’s on the sign that’s the issue here — it’s where they are placed.
The article said according to Indiana law, political signs are not to be posted in right-of-way areas, and adds, “These areas include interstates and intersections where local, state or federal roads cross with a state or federal ?highway.”
This means SR 46, for example. This is where Davidson was seen taking down the signs.
I looked up a little more information about Indiana political signage laws.
“Signs of any type are not allowed on highway rights-of-way; non-compliant signs are considered a pubic nuisance and will be removed by the entity ?responsible for the ?highway.”
So wait, the entity responsible for the highway, the Indiana Department of Transportation, is supposed to remove these signs? Yes, they are. They didn’t do their job, so, Davidson, in vigilante style, thought she would do it for them.
INDOT is responsible for upholding this law, and it’s slacking. In the article, Davidson said complaints to INDOT didn’t work.
Who is paying for these signs? The article said it’s a political action community called Take Back Monroe County, which is organized by Grassroots ?Conservatives.
Indiana law states that “candidate yard signs distributed to more than 100 people include a disclaimer that states the person or organization that paid for the sign,” adding that the disclaimer must “be in at least 12 point font and use a color contrast and placement scheme that allow the text to be easily read.”
I don’t know for sure if this disclaimer is listed on the sign, but I do know that I can’t read it when I’m ?passing one.
Republican oversight? Yeah, they’re getting pretty good at that these days.
All campaign signs are nuisances.
Most of them seem to be posted in public areas where it is pretty clear the candidate or organization that owns the sign did not receive permission.
There’s a campaign sign on the property of my apartment complex to which I highly doubt permission was given.
Candidates and organizations are blatantly breaking laws with the placement of their signage because they don’t care. Nobody’s doing anything about it, so why should they?
I implore INDOT and the City of Bloomington to ?enforce these signage laws.
With election day less than a week away, I doubt this will happen. But a boy can dream, can’t he?
zipperr@indiana.edu
