Know Your Rights: Displaying Political Signs

Displaying political signs on your property – whether in your yard or your window – is a fundamental practice of free speech and expression protected under the U.S. Constitution and the New Jersey Constitution. Political signs often promote a particular candidate for public office or a ballot measure, but political signs also include messages in support of a cause or principle, like “Black Lives Matter,” or other messages of public interest. While the right to display political signs on private property is not absolute, it is protected under the law.

Many municipalities in New Jersey have adopted ordinances that place restrictions on when, where, and how individuals may display yard signs. Depending on how the ordinances are worded and whether they single out political messages, they may infringe on your rights. Towns may not subject political signs to different or more restrictive treatment than other signs. However, reasonable limits on the number of signs you can have and how or when you display them are generally constitutional so long as the limits apply to all signs uniformly and address legitimate public concerns. For example, an ordinance disallowing all lighted signs to prevent distracted driving would likely be permissible. Towns can also prohibit political signs on public property in certain cases.

If you believe your town has an ordinance that unconstitutionally limits your display of political signs, or if your homeowners’ association has placed unreasonable limits on your rights of free speech and expression, you can complete an intake form with ACLU-NJ online.

1. Can I place political signs on my private property?

A.Can I place political signs on my private property?

Yes! But your local government can place reasonable restrictions on signs so long as they do not discriminate on the basis of the sign’s message or content. Towns may also limit the number, placement, size, and other physical characteristics of signs. If a limitation applies evenly to all kinds of signs, then it may be lawful. But if these limitations apply only to political signs, they may be unconstitutional.

2. What about public property?

A.What about public property?

You may be allowed to place political signs on public property, but it depends on your local ordinances. Because the property is publicly owned, the local government can place more restrictions on the signs displayed so long as they do so in an even-handed manner that does not discriminate on the basis of the sign’s content.

3. What if my property is within a condominium or homeowners’ association?

A.What if my property is within a condominium or homeowners’ association?

If your property is subject to the rules of a homeowners’ association, your legal rights are a little different. Because homeowners’ associations are private organizations and not government actors, the courts give them more leeway to limit how residents display political signs. In other words, while the New Jersey Constitution still protects your right to free speech, New Jersey’s courts balance the tenants’ or homeowners’ fundamental right of expression with the interests of the association. While a blanket ban on political signs likely would not be constitutional, homeowners’ associations can institute reasonable limits on the location, size, and number of political signs in most cases. An association’s interest in maintaining a community’s architectural design and aesthetics is typically sufficient to justify reasonable restrictions on political signs.

4. What are content-based restrictions?

A.What are content-based restrictions?

Content-based restrictions are restrictions that apply depending on the content, topic, or purpose of the message. For example, an ordinance restricting the number of political signs permitted on each property while placing no such limit on signs advertising a landscaping business would be a content-based restriction.

5. Why does it matter if a restriction is content-based?

A.Why does it matter if a restriction is content-based?

Content-based restrictions enjoy stronger protections – they are unconstitutional unless the government can prove that the restrictions are narrowly tailored to further a compelling state interest. For that reason, content-based restrictions imposed by municipalities concerning political signs placed on private property are often found to be unconstitutional.

6. Can my town impose time limits around when I can place political signs on my private property?

A.Can my town impose time limits around when I can place political signs on my private property?

No. Permitting political signs during only certain times of the year, like in the days leading up to an election, is an unconstitutional, content-based restriction.