Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli thwarted efforts by Northern Virginia officials to limit the size of campaign lawn signs as the state braces for another election season blanketing of the region’s green spaces with political signs of every stripe.
Cucinnelli ruled that size limits on political signs could not be more restrictive than those for other kinds of temporary signs, like signs advertising new housing developments.
The issue was brought to Cuccinelli’s attention by Del. David Ramadan, R-South Riding, who said Loudoun County officials were trying to prevent a resident from placing a large political sign outside his home. Ramadan empathized with local leaders wanting to scale back campaign signs, but said it could not infringe on someone’s ability to support a candidate.
Cuccinelli’s opinions are non-binding, but coming from the state’s top attorney, his analysis often sparks action.
“We always have an election here every year. So there’s a sign issue every year,” Ramadan said. “There’s gotta be a happy medium. You can’t take away people’s rights to freedom of speech. But sometimes there is excessiveness and it’s too much.”
In an era of zip-code directed email blasts and campaign-directed social media, it’s the old school yard signs that are roiling local officials. The ubiquitous signs can be a public safety issue and create trash problems long after ballots are cast, officials said.
And Loudoun County isn’t alone in the search for a remedy.
Prince William County set its own limit on campaign signs and county attorneys are now reviewing it “to ensure it doesn’t impose stricter size limitations on campaigns than on other temporary signs,” spokesman Jason Grant said.
Fairfax County, too, has separate rules for political signs — no larger than 32 square feet and no taller than 8 feet — that officials said differs in some cases from other temporary signs.
Permanent commercial billboards are not affected.
Localities are bracing for the annual onslaught of campaigns signs months ahead of the November elections, which promises to be much worse this year since Democrats and Republicans are targeting Virginia in both the presidential election and fight over control of the U.S. Senate.
Tension over the campaign signs also is increasing this year because the General Assembly just cleared the way for local governments to restrict the placement of such signs on public land, making it more likely that candidates will seek private land for their signs.
“If candidates can no longer put signs in the public right-of-way, there’s going to be more pressure to put them in people’s yards,” Fairfax County Supervisor Jeff McKay, D-Lee, said. “We need to understand what could happen.”
