Ah….it’s November. The time of year where you are berated by what feels like an endless number of politicians telling you why their opponent is a bum and why they should be the candidate of your choice. They say very little about what they have accomplished, but lots about how the other guy will basically take away your job, your home, your spouse and your kids if he somehow manages to get elected.

This year, perhaps because nobody seems all too happy about the available choices, I haven’t seen many signs in front of homes endorsing a particular candidate. The question however is…… can your association prevent you from putting up a sign on your own property endorsing a candidate? Despite what you may have heard, you do have a First Amendment right of free speech in your association. The right to display a sign however is not necessarily protected speech. As we know, many associations have many provisions in their governing documents that prevent owners from placing signs on the property or even displaying them to the outside world from inside their homes. If the association enforces these rules, and forbids all signs of whatever nature, the association would absolutely have the right to prevent an owner from placing signs on their property or in their windows that endorses a particular political candidate.

Here is where the association can get in trouble though… the association allows some signs, but does not allow signs that are clearly political expression. For example, if the association allows unit owners to display signs that say “Merry Christmas” “Happy New Year” “Welcome Home” or other similar signs, they would have a difficult time forcing an owner to remove a particular sign that endorses a political candidate. A “no sign” rule, means NO SIGNS OF ANY NATURE. There can’t be some signs that are allowed and some signs that are not allowed.

In my own community a few years back, the President was caught on video removing a sign that endorsed a certain politician, from his neighbor’s home. The police made him put it back. A few hours later however, the President’s wife was caught on camera removing the same sign from the same house. To overstate the obvious, this is exactly what your Board shouldn’t be doing, especially when your community has a reputation for allowing extravagant signs and decorations on Halloween, Christmas and every other holiday for that matter. If the association does allow signs, they better allow you to put up signs endorsing politicians, even if you endorse a candidate that the Board members don’t like.

So how does it work in your community? Signs or no signs? Have you ever been asked to take one down? Did you listen? Would you listen? Next week we’ll talk about the right to campaign in your own condo or HOA election.