Bartow County, GA Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)

Bartow County's Zoning Ordinance treats campaign signs as 'Class 2 Temporary Signs' under Sec. 2, a category that applies in every zoning district and carries no permit requirement. The county defines the election cycle broadly: it begins 150 days before any primary, special election, general election or runoff, and continues until 20 days after that election is held, and the code notes these cycles can overlap, so a primary's cycle typically runs into the general election's cycle, which then extends again if a runoff is scheduled.

During that window, a landowner may erect any number of Class 2 signs on one lot, so long as they do not create a traffic hazard or nuisance and otherwise meet the ordinance's construction rules in Sec. 6. Each sign is capped at five feet in height and thirty-two square feet per face, and cannot be more than two-sided; the same 32-square-foot limit also covers signs placed in the beds of pickup trucks during the cycle. The ordinance is content-neutral, allowing any message, political or otherwise, and covers federal, Georgia statewide, county and municipal elections within Bartow's borders.

Signs left up before the 150-day window opens, or left standing more than 20 days after the election, become a public nuisance under subsection (E), and the County may remove and dispose of them without prior notice to the owner. The rule sits within the county's broader temporary-sign framework at Sec. 4, alongside Class 1 weekend signs and very-small signs, and does not override the general placement, setback and construction standards found elsewhere in Article XI.