With a primary in September and a general election in November you should expect to see more political advertisements popping up along First State roadways.
Delaware limits roadway signs, but it allows people to post signs along streets 30 days before and after an election, which means it’s open season for road signs in Delaware for the next couple months.
“We just started with the campaign season but it’s clear we’re going to see a lot of signs this season,” according to Jim Westhoff, a spokesman with Delaware’s Department of Transportation, which regulates the signs.
He says anyone can place signs along roadways through December 8, not just politicians. So that will add to the clutter in the next couple months.
But there are some exceptions for safety reasons. Signs are never allowed 10 feet from the roadway, in the median or on existing posts or poles.
Anyone violating these restrictions will get a $25 fine, so it’s financially smart for political campaigns to educate their volunteers about the rules.
“Make sure that they know exactly where signs can and cannot be placed,” Westhoff said.
DelDOT has already issued hundreds of violations this year. Most of those were for non-political ads, but Westhoff expects that to change as we get closer to the November election.