Action 176: Recycle that sign
Background: Earlier this year, the Hancock County Dems acquired hundreds of used road signs from candidates who no longer needed them. Using white paint and long handled rollers, we converted the signs to “blank canvas” for future use, ready when the inspiration strikes. Recycling not only saves money, but is probably better for the environment. Plus, you get to use your creativity on a road sign you make. The Deer Isle/Stonington Dems were particularly effective in this effort, making excellent use of those plastic signs that have channels for inserting metal stakes. That type of sign needs to be painted, or have poster board stapled to it to cover the existing text. Unfortunately, plain ordinary poster board is not waterproof.
It will be easy to recycle the red “No on 1” and similar waterproof poster board signs. No paint required! Simply remove the sign from the stake, gently pull apart the glued edges, flip the sign inside out, and glue, staple, or tape the edges shut again. Voila! A blank canvas which will accept various kinds of permanent, waterproof markers or paint! There will be significant scarring along the edges where the original glue was. You can cover this up with a strip of dark paint, or a strip of duct tape (which now is available in lots of colors and patterns). If you are careful, you can use the duct tape also to seal the edges at the same time. Store the signs with their original metal stakes inserted, but wait to staple the bottom shut until after you have finished decorating the sign, because that’s easier to do without the stake inserted. Check with your town Democratic Committee about where the signs can be stored. Share your signs!
Action: After 8 pm November 4 (or for safety sake, first thing in the morning November 5) go around and pick up all the outdated “No on 1” signs you placed before someone else does! Then prepare them for recycling!
Extra Credit: (more on sign prep and placement)
Remember the law requires that signs IN THE ROAD RIGHT OF WAY have to have a contact name and address, and a date the sign was placed. (It’s also a good idea to write the date 6 weeks later when the sign must be removed.) Signs lacking this information can be confiscated by the highway department (not by some random person). There are a LOT of nonconforming signs out there, particularly the black “resist” signs and signs for various candidates. Campaigns: please take note of the rules, before your signs get confiscated! It’s also a good idea to place a warning against vandalism on the sign. Print out a small version of something similar to the text shown below, and affix it to the sign. You can put the warning on one side of the sign, and the contact info and date on the other side. You can use printed labels, but remember not all printers use waterproof ink. If your ink runs in the rain, cover the labels with clear packing tape.
When can you place your signs? IF IN THE ROAD RIGHT OF WAY, you get 6 weeks from January through June, and another 6 weeks from July through December. If you are making a sign for a candidate, the best time to place the sign is probably 6 weeks before the election. The primary is June 9, 2026 and the general election is November 3, so plan on placing your signs April 28 and September 22. If your signs are not for a candidate, you can place them for any 6 week period during the half year. You could even place them for one week each month of the year – 12 weeks total. But be sure to remember to change the date label. This could be a great way to keep your candidate in the public eye all year.
Signs fully on your own property and outside of the right of way don’t have to follow these rules for labeling and dating. However, there are setback requirements for signs on your property. Check MRSA Title 23 Chapter 21 Section 1914 for those requirements.
How do you know if your sign is inside or outside of the right of way? It depends on the classification of your road, and there are lots of special circumstances. Always check with your town office, road commissioner, or the State highway department for the right-of-way width at your location. As a general rule, a typical residential “two rod road” has a right-of-way width of 33 feet. To find where that is on your property, measure the width of the road where you would like to place your sign, find the midpoint, and then measure 16 ½ feet from that point into your property. That’s the edge of the right-of-way for a typical, uncomplicated two-rod road. That may not describe your road! Always check.
Print something like these labels and place them on your signs.
Fill out the dates and contact info with a sharpie, when you are ready to put the sign out.
