Carson, CA Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)

California Business & Professions Code §5405.3 expressly authorizes temporary political signs on private property within these limits: 32 sq ft maximum face area, posted no earlier than 90 days before the election, and removed within 10 days after. The statute also requires that a 'statement of responsibility' be filed with Caltrans for signs visible from a state highway, with the person filing agreeing to reimburse the state for removal costs. Signs may not be placed in any highway right-of-way or within 660 feet of a landscaped freeway where visible from the freeway. Carson, as a charter-adjacent general-law city in LA County, regulates sign placement through its zoning code (Carson Municipal Code Article IX, Chapter 1, hosted at ecode360.com/47274121). Under the U.S. Supreme Court's Reed v. Town of Gilbert decision, any Carson sign rule that treats political signs differently from other temporary signs based on the sign's message must survive strict scrutiny — so in practice political signs are regulated under the same time/place/manner rules as other temporary signs on private property. Signs in the public right-of-way (parkways, medians, utility poles, street trees, sign posts, traffic signals) are prohibited and routinely removed by Public Works without notice.