Sauk County, WI Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)

Political signs sit on the list of signs exempt from the sign permit requirement in Sec. 7.120(7), but Sec. 7.126 puts a time limit on that exemption for signs tied to a specific race or referendum. Sec. 7.126(1)(a) defines the election campaign period as starting on the first day candidates may circulate nomination papers, or the first day a referendum question is submitted to the electorate, and running through election day; Sec. 7.126(2) allows the sign to stay up for that period plus five days before and five days after.

Sec. 7.126(3) offers a way around the time limit: if the sign otherwise meets the chapter's requirements and is issued a sign permit, the display-period limit does not apply. Sec. 7.126(4) narrows the whole section's exemption to residential property, defined by Sec. 7.126(1)(c) as property occupied or suitable for residential occupancy plus abutting property the resident maintains; a political sign placed on commercial, industrial or other nonresidential land is not exempt from any other provision of the sign subchapter, meaning it needs a permit and must meet the size, height and setback standards in Sec.

7.117 and Sec. 7.129 like any other permitted sign. Sec. 7.118's substitution clause separately lets a noncommercial message, including a political one, replace commercial copy on a legally sited sign without a new permit.