Campaign signs allowed at the Allen library polling place starting Oct. 18, four per candidate

Candidates and campaigns hoping to plant signs outside the Allen Public Library during the Nov. 3 election have a set window and a short list of rules to follow.

The library, at 300 N. Allen Drive, is serving as a polling place for both early voting and Election Day this year. In an Oct. 2 memo to candidates, City Secretary Shelley B. George laid out how the city's electioneering ordinance applies there.

When signs can go up and must come down

• Signs may be placed starting at 8 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, which is 24 hours before early voting begins.
• They must be removed by 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4.
• City staff will be on site from 7 a.m. Oct. 18 to answer questions about where signs are allowed.

Limits on number, size and location

Each candidate or committee may place up to four signs, and no sign may be larger than 16 square feet.

Signs are allowed only in the grassy areas marked on a city map attached to the memo. They are not allowed in parking medians or landscaped beds, including areas covered with wood chips, rocks or crushed granite. Signs and literature handouts are also barred within 10 feet of the roadway next to the polling place.

Staff have painted orange marks over buried irrigation lines and asked campaigns not to drive stakes or rebar into those areas. Signs that break the rules will be removed, according to the memo.

The underlying ordinance

The rules come from Ordinance No. 3776-9-20, which amended an article first adopted in 2014 after changes to state election law. The ordinance applies only outside the 100-foot zone around a polling place entrance where the Texas Election Code already bans electioneering.

It also makes it an offense to electioneer on driveways and parking areas, or to attach signs to trees, poles or buildings, at a city-owned polling place. Violations carry a fine of up to $2,000 per offense.

The ordinance says its purpose includes keeping the property safe, preventing damage and leaving the facility available to its regular users, while giving all candidates and both sides of ballot measures an equal chance to campaign there.

Sources

cityofallen.org