BURRILLVILLE – The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island recently warned Burrillville officials that a town ordinance that bars the posting of political signs on private property more than 60 days before an election is unconstitutional.
In a letter to Town Manager Michael Wood, the organization noted that it has won lawsuits challenging similar ordinances elsewhere in the state, calling the provision, “a clear violation of residents’ free speech rights.”
“In addition to the clear legal problems with the ordinance, it is worth emphasizing the important public policy considerations involved,” noted state ACLU Executive Director Steven Brown. “In a society that values freedom of speech and political participation, political signs play an important role for both candidates and voters.”
The town recently posted a notice reminding residents of Burrillville’s long-ordinance leading someone to contact the ACLU according to the notice dated Tuesday, August 13.
“Political signs are an easy way for people at the grassroots level to get involved in political campaigns and to show their support for a candidate or idea,” wrote Brown.
Brown noted that the amount of time a sign can be posted is especially important for challengers in political campaigns who lack name recognition.
“As one court noted about a sign ordinance similar to Burrillville’s, ‘Two months is simply not enough time to allow a relatively
unknown person to achieve household familiarity,'” notes Brown. “In light of the numerous cases in Rhode Island leading to court settlements recognizing the unconstitutionality of these durational restrictions, the town’s infringement on the free speech rights
of residents is especially disturbing.”
Asked about the law this week, Wood said that Burrillville’s ordinance has been in place for many years.
“To my knowledge, we’ve never had to enforce any of its provisions as it relates to political signage,” Wood said.
The Town Council recently referred the language to the board’s ordinance subcommittee to address the concern for future revision, and President Donald Fox further clarified plans to change the law, condemning its original passage by a previous council
“The current Town Council is in receipt of the letter regarding political signage from the ACLU and has agreed that the ordinance, as it is written, disenfranchises candidates and was crafted to limit free speech and freedom of political expression,” Fox said in a statement. “It was passed in 2004 by a Democratic controlled town council. I am confident that this Town Council will reverse the mistake made two decades ago.”
Editor’s note: The above article has been edited to add comment from Council President Donald Fox. Fox later clarified his comment noting that it was a Democrat-controlled – not fully Democratic council – that originally passed the ordinance.
