Is it legal to take political signs from a yard or a roadway? What the NC law says
When he started, James Petrie of Cary volunteered to put up 600 political signs for Alan Swain — his preferred Republican candidate for U.S. Congress, District 2.
But five days out from the election, Petrie estimates he has replaced 15 of them, mostly from the corner of Howland Avenue and Bayoak Drive.
“They’re being pulled up,” he said Thursday. “Some of them are being shoved in the bushes. They’ve walked over them. About every day, they’ve been abused.”
He posted a note on the social media app Nextdoor, asking for information and noting that he is a private investigator. But that’s as far as he’s taken the problem so far.
“I was trying to egg Alan Swain on to give me the OK to go after the people,” he said. “I didn’t want to put covert cameras up until he OKs it.”
Swain doesn’t have to.
Stealing, removing or vandalizing political signs is illegal in North Carolina. It’s a Class 3 misdemeanor, the least serious of misdemeanors in the state, but carries a maximum penalty of 20 days in jail and a $200 fine.
In its guidelines for dealing with this crime, Wake County recommends calling police.
“Stealing political signs is illegal,” said Maj. Jason Winn, assistant police chief of the Hillsborough Police Department, in a town statement. “We need to be respectful of people’s personal property and their right to express their political opinions.”
Stealing political signs crosses both lines
Earlier in October, the Moore County Sheriff’s Office charged a 64-year-old man with stealing signs off a state highway.
Deputies charged James Wesley Greenfield of Harnett County after watching video footage, and The Pilot reported he is a registered Republican and took signs for Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Also in Moore County, deputies charged a Democratic candidate for NC House with stealing signs in the West End area of Seven Lakes. Lowell Simon, a candidate for District 78, resigned as his local party chair earlier this month.
What are the rules for political signs?
▪ By state law, political signs can go up in the public right-of-way 30 days before early voting starts and 10 days after the election is finished.
▪ Any sign remaining there 30 days after the election is considered unlawfully abandoned property, and it can be removed without penalty.
▪ Any voting place must have a buffer zone of 50 feet where no political activity, including signs, can occur.
▪ Wake County offers this list of contacts for sign stealing and damage.
▪ In Raleigh, any violations can be reported to Tige Phyfer at tige.phyfer@raleighnc.gov or David Reyes at David.reyes@raleighnc.gov.
This story was originally published October 31, 2024 at 1:04 PM with the headline "Is it legal to take political signs from a yard or a roadway? What the NC law says."