Open Letter To New York Residents Stealing Campaign Signs

So much for freedom of speech, right?

During this time of the year, you will see several campaign signs in your neighbor’s yard, and you may not agree with every sign you see. But that is nobody’s problem except for your own.

With the presidential election being right around the corner, it is worth noting that the political yard signs “are protected under the free speech provisions of the United States and New York State Constitutions,” according to the New York State Division of Election Law Enforcement. 

That means that even if you don’t agree with your neighbor or what is being displayed in their yard, you do not have the right to step onto their property to take down the campaign sign. And if you agree with your neighbor and want to take a campaign sign from them to add it to your yard, well that’s against the law too. 

In fact, stealing, vandalizing, or removing political campaign signs is a crime (usually a misdemeanor) in every state. 

You cannot remove a political yard sign from private property or from public property in areas where signs are allowed by local laws. The theft or vandalism of a legally placed political sign is a crime in every state across the country. 

If you walked onto private property without permission to steal the sign, you could also be charged with trespassing.

According to FindLaw, “most states have laws dictating where and when political signs may be placed on public property, and political signs that are not in line with these rules don’t have the same protections.” 

Part of being good neighborly is respecting your neighbors with different viewpoints than you…even if you don’t agree. If you can’t do that, you could be charged with a Class A Misdemeanor, which could result in up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.