Southampton, NY Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)

The Town of Southampton's sign code (Chapter 330, Article XXII) defines a POLITICAL SIGN at Section 330-201 as "a nonilluminated sign designed to influence voters or to express a political opinion." Section 330-203A then places political signs on the article's exempt-sign list at item (9), meaning the Building Department does not require a sign permit or fee for them, the general area-and-height allowances that bind wall, freestanding and window signs do not apply, and political signs are not subject to the article's amortization deadline that forces older nonconforming signs into compliance.

Because the definition itself requires the sign to be nonilluminated, an illuminated political sign falls outside the exemption entirely: it would instead be treated as an ordinary wall, freestanding or window sign under Section 330-205, would need a Building Department permit under Section 330-208A, and would have to meet the illumination limits in Section 330-207 (steady shielded white light, 60-watt maximum per fixture, extinguished by 11:00 p.m.). Illuminated signs of the neon or neon-type variety are separately banned outright by Section 330-203B(2) unless they qualify for a narrow exception.

Residents outside the incorporated villages should also remember that placement in the public right-of-way or within a corner-clearance triangle is never protected by this exemption, since those are separate Town Code and Vehicle and Traffic Law concerns enforced by Code Enforcement and the Highway Department, not the sign article itself.