Grassroots group fights political signs on public property

ATLANTA - The signs are everywhere.  Election Day is just around the corner and one group wants to put an end to the proliferation of political signs on public property.

"When you place a campaign sign, just make sure it is actually your property," said Charlie Paine, a volunteer with the grassroots group Atlantans Demanding Political Accountability.

Last week, the group started placing bright, yellow stickers on signs they find in the public right-of-way. The notices read, "illegal sign," and reference the state and local laws that govern where temporary political signs are allowed.

"I really love things to be beautiful and to see our city littered with these illegally placed signs on public property, it's really a disgrace," Paine said.

The group started out by ordering one thousand stickers and Paine hopes that is all they will need. Some campaigns, he explained, have already removed signs tagged with the stickers.

"We might have to make more, we might not.  We'll see," said Paine. "We're hoping that all campaigns will start proactively taking their illegally placed signs down."

Paine believes the issue is bigger than just aesthetics.

"The message I'd say to the candidates is that if you can't even follow the city code and the state code regarding your own campaigns, how can we trust you once you're in public office to actually follow the guidelines we have for that position?" Paine asked.

To learn more about Atlantans Demanding Political Accountability, email them at illegalsignsatl@gmail.com.