Political signs in Winston-Salem are regulated under NCGS 136-32 on state and federal rights-of-way and locally under the Unified Development Ordinances. Residential political signs are generally allowed without a permit on private property 45 days before an election.
Political campaign signs enjoy strong First Amendment protection and are treated as temporary signs under the Winston-Salem UDO. On private residential property, political signs up to 6 square feet per sign are allowed without a permit and without numeric limit during the campaign season. They must be removed within 7 days after the election. On state-maintained roads, NCGS 136-32 preempts local regulation and allows political signs to be placed in the right-of-way (but not on the roadway itself) between 30 days before the start of early voting and 10 days after election day, with written permission of adjacent property owners. Signs cannot be attached to utility poles, traffic signs, trees, or placed in roadway medians or islands that obstruct sight distance. Signs on public city property (parks, libraries, city buildings) are prohibited. Commercial political signs at campaign offices follow standard commercial signage rules. The Reed v. Town of Gilbert Supreme Court decision limits content-based sign restrictions, so the city cannot treat political signs differently from other temporary signs.
Signs in prohibited locations are removed by Public Works without penalty to the candidate. Persistent violations or signs blocking traffic visibility can trigger $100 civil penalties to the responsible party.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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