If it's not your property- don't post signs!

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

I am wondering if it wasn't done on purpose...but not by the staff of the candidate running for office on the sign.

the were several stories during the last elections about the staff of an opposing cabdidate taking down some signs and putting them back up in places they were not allowed, for the purpose of making their opponent look bad.

maybe some hijinks are going on?

 

[Disney Doll]

Truthfully, I'd just pull the sign out of the lawn and toss it in the trash.

 

[NCRedding]

I guess that you're not aware that defacing political signs is a felony in most areas.

Not exactly. See law from OP's home state:

(19) Stealing or willfully defacing, mutilating, or destroying any campaign yard sign on private property, except that this subdivision shall not be construed to interfere with the right of any private property owner to take any action with regard to campaign yard signs on the owner's property and this subdivision shall not be construed to interfere with the right of any candidate, or the candidate's designee, to remove the candidate's campaign yard sign from the owner's private property after the election day.

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

I guess that you're not aware that defacing political signs is a felony in most areas.

Usually that only applies to signs that are properly posted. If it is in your yard, and you didn't put it there, I don't think the law applies...

 

[sbell111]

While the landowner certainly has the right to remove the offending sign, defacing it as has been suggested in this thread may not be deemed kosher, depending on the judge that you found yourself in front of. I wouldn't take the risk.

 

[FireDancer]

While the landowner certainly has the right to remove the offending sign, defacing it as has been suggested in this thread may not be deemed kosher, depending on the judge that you found yourself in front of. I wouldn't take the risk.

Which is why when asked you say I have no idea who put that sign there or who spray painted on it .

Besides, the law in most situations prevents you from defacing a sign on someone else's property. Once something is in my yard it is free game IMO. I imagine the police have better things to do then wonder if someone defaced something that is on their own property. Worrying about being hauled away because of something like this is one of the many things that only people on the DIS actually worry about.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I always tear down and off any signs people affix to my property. Once I did allow it because a friend's husband was running for judge locally but uninvited means trash. If the trespasser doesn't want it destroyed they shouldn't have given it to me as a gift.

 

[kaytieeldr]

The OP hasn't responded yet as to whether she's an owner or a renter. If the latter, and the owner (e.g. of a single or multi-family house) of the property agreed to allow the campaign sign to be posted, I believe she has little recourse - and so probably shouldn't be defacing the sign, either

 

[Imzadi]

While the landowner certainly has the right to remove the offending sign, defacing it as has been suggested in this thread may not be deemed kosher, depending on the judge that you found yourself in front of. I wouldn't take the risk.

Isn't it also illegal to put signs on private property? Otherwise, people would be using each other's front lawns as free advertising space all the time.

Which is why when asked you say I have no idea who put that sign there or who spray painted on it .

Besides, the law in most situations prevents you from defacing a sign on someone else's property. Once something is in my yard it is free game IMO.

I like this thinking.

I'm sorry, but I am not going to take care of a sign someone else put on my property without my permission. If it's on MY property, I should have the right to do with it what I want. What if I have opposing views to political figure? What if the fact is that those views are causing me trouble by people passing by because they think _I_ believe in those views too?

If the Klu Klux Klan put a sign on my property, I'm not going to wait for them to pick up their sign.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I am wondering if it wasn't done on purpose...but not by the staff of the candidate running for office on the sign.

the were several stories during the last elections about the staff of an opposing cabdidate taking down some signs and putting them back up in places they were not allowed, for the purpose of making their opponent look bad.

maybe some hijinks are going on?

That was my first thought as well!

Although, one year, I wound up voting for a candidate purely because of how she treated her signs! A few weeks before the election a hurricane hit our area. Her campaign peeps went around and secured or removed EVERY SINGLE sign prior to the storm! I figured if she was as diligent and thorough in her office (she was running for city attorney or somesuch, I think) as she was in her campaign, she'd be a good choice.

 

[lovetoscrap]

One of the funniest practical jokes I have ever played came from this exact same situation:

A parent from our children's school was running for some local office. My bff and I were not very fond of him but always smiled and made nice because it was the right thing to do. When he announced his campaign we both and of course he assumed we would all be voting for him. So she comes home one day to find his campaign sign in her yard-- It was a bright orange sucker and she was mad!!!

Of course the first thing she did was call me and I could not stop about it. We had no idea who put it in her yard and I had to tease her about it. She pulled it out of the yard and I thought that was the end of it. Until about a week later I look out my window and there is one of his ugly orange signs in MY yard!!! Of course I immediately call her and she tried to play it off but she couldn't keep from laughing-- she and her husband had driven by and put it in my yard as a joke. So the sign went into my garage, to wait for the perfect revenge.

Fast forward about a year and she is moving away. DH and I KNEW that this sign had to end up at her new house 6 hours away somehow. I was in constant contact with her the day of the move and she had to leave and pick up some things, leaving the movers by themselves at her house. MY OPPORTUNITY! I grabbed the sign, jumped in the car and raced to her house. I gave the movers some $$$ and told them the story and begged them to please hide the sign in the truck and then quietly put it in her yard when they had a chance while they were unpacking. (it was the same crew loading and unloading)

Then I just had to wait.......

3 days later my phone rings around 10 am and when I picked it up she was so hard she couldn't even talk!! Which of course set me off. Never ever would she have thought she would walk out of her house there and see that sign in her yard!

Even now, 8 years later, we laugh about it. And frankly I worry that the sign may still be in her basement, waiting for the perfect opportunity for paybacks!

 

[C.Ann]

What I find much more annoying is people who leave their "yard sale" and "garage sale" signs up for weeks after the sale is over..

It's very, very isolated up here in the mountains and the signs rarely have dates on them, so you could drive 5 miles up a country road only to find the sale was last month..

Take your dang signs down!!

Your situation? I would either call them - or toss it..

 

[Imzadi]

One of the funniest practical jokes I have ever played came from this exact same situation:

A parent from our children's school was running for some local office. My bff and I were not very fond of him but always smiled and made nice because it was the right thing to do. When he announced his campaign we both and of course he assumed we would all be voting for him. So she comes home one day to find his campaign sign in her yard-- It was a bright orange sucker and she was mad!!!

Of course the first thing she did was call me and I could not stop about it. We had no idea who put it in her yard and I had to tease her about it. She pulled it out of the yard and I thought that was the end of it. Until about a week later I look out my window and there is one of his ugly orange signs in MY yard!!! Of course I immediately call her and she tried to play it off but she couldn't keep from laughing-- she and her husband had driven by and put it in my yard as a joke. So the sign went into my garage, to wait for the perfect revenge.

Fast forward about a year and she is moving away. DH and I KNEW that this sign had to end up at her new house 6 hours away somehow. I was in constant contact with her the day of the move and she had to leave and pick up some things, leaving the movers by themselves at her house. MY OPPORTUNITY! I grabbed the sign, jumped in the car and raced to her house. I gave the movers some $$$ and told them the story and begged them to please hide the sign in the truck and then quietly put it in her yard when they had a chance while they were unpacking. (it was the same crew loading and unloading)

Then I just had to wait.......

3 days later my phone rings around 10 am and when I picked it up she was so hard she couldn't even talk!! Which of course set me off. Never ever would she have thought she would walk out of her house there and see that sign in her yard!

Even now, 8 years later, we laugh about it. And frankly I worry that the sign may still be in her basement, waiting for the perfect opportunity for paybacks!

 

[AustinTink]

Imagine our surprise when we came home to find that our house was for sale. Wrong address, but quite the surprise when we came around the corner. Not to mention all the neighbors asking if we were moving...

 

[Ceila]

We had Verizon come out, dig up our yard, and run a fios line from the box near the street to the outside of our house. The problem? We never ordered it.

After some research, I was able to find out that the people who did order it mis-typed their phone number, and put mine in by mistake. What was really unbelievable was that I practically had to sign over my first born child to get info about the line that was dug in my own yard, yet those Verizon idiots didn't even cross check the phone number entered into the online form against the actual address before digging up the front yard.

 

[Abbie]

One of the funniest practical jokes I have ever played came from this exact same situation:

A parent from our children's school was running for some local office. My bff and I were not very fond of him but always smiled and made nice because it was the right thing to do. When he announced his campaign we both and of course he assumed we would all be voting for him. So she comes home one day to find his campaign sign in her yard-- It was a bright orange sucker and she was mad!!!

Of course the first thing she did was call me and I could not stop about it. We had no idea who put it in her yard and I had to tease her about it. She pulled it out of the yard and I thought that was the end of it. Until about a week later I look out my window and there is one of his ugly orange signs in MY yard!!! Of course I immediately call her and she tried to play it off but she couldn't keep from laughing-- she and her husband had driven by and put it in my yard as a joke. So the sign went into my garage, to wait for the perfect revenge.

Fast forward about a year and she is moving away. DH and I KNEW that this sign had to end up at her new house 6 hours away somehow. I was in constant contact with her the day of the move and she had to leave and pick up some things, leaving the movers by themselves at her house. MY OPPORTUNITY! I grabbed the sign, jumped in the car and raced to her house. I gave the movers some $$$ and told them the story and begged them to please hide the sign in the truck and then quietly put it in her yard when they had a chance while they were unpacking. (it was the same crew loading and unloading)

Then I just had to wait.......

3 days later my phone rings around 10 am and when I picked it up she was so hard she couldn't even talk!! Which of course set me off. Never ever would she have thought she would walk out of her house there and see that sign in her yard!

Even now, 8 years later, we laugh about it. And frankly I worry that the sign may still be in her basement, waiting for the perfect opportunity for paybacks!

Love it!!

I hate, hate, hate all the political signs that spring up overnight around this time of year. Although this year, one of our candidates for governor disturbs me so much that I've half considered having his opponent bring by a sign for my yard!

I would have been quite put out to find an unasked-for sign on my property and would not waste any time removing and destroying it.

 

[MM27]

I would not let something like this bother me. I had someone running for some office put a sign on my lawn once. I took it out and put it at the curb for trash pickup. The person actually rang my doorbell the next day and asked why I took the sign out. I told him that nobody had asked to put it there and I was not interested in advertising for him.

My new house is in a development that does not allow signs for anything on the front lawn, except real estate for sale signs.

 

[Gigi22]

Or, you could exercise your artistic talent, and draw a mustache and eyepatch on the candidate; you could completely paint over the whole sign and leave it where it is; or paint over the slogan, Vote for This Guy?; you could correct any spelling/grammar mistakes on the poster...the possibilities here are endless--and it is way too late to pursue this train of thought.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I agree not a big deal at all. Call them and request no signs in your yard. Don't you live in an apt?

I own my own house.

I am wondering if it wasn't done on purpose...but not by the staff of the candidate running for office on the sign.

the were several stories during the last elections about the staff of an opposing cabdidate taking down some signs and putting them back up in places they were not allowed, for the purpose of making their opponent look bad.

maybe some hijinks are going on?

I hadn't thought about that either.

Truthfully, I'm not really upset. I think I was so upset last night because I was so blasted tired. By the time I got home I had been up for almost 24 hours and was not firing on all cylinders so to speak. I doubt I would have been anywhere near as annoyed at any other time.

The sign is currently sitting in my garage. I haven't decided what to do with it yet.

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

I own my own house.



I hadn't thought about that either.

Truthfully, I'm not really upset. I think I was so upset last night because I was so blasted tired. By the time I got home I had been up for almost 24 hours and was not firing on all cylinders so to speak. I doubt I would have been anywhere near as annoyed at any other time.

The sign is currently sitting in my garage. I haven't decided what to do with it yet.

Save it for holloween, then just get some glow in the dark paint and paint a ghost on it!

reuse-recycle!!