With Primary Election Day approaching on Tuesday, May 21, the Deschutes County Road Department wants to inform political campaigns and their supporters that political signs are no longer allowed to be posted in the right of way of public roads under the jurisdiction of Deschutes County.
Last year, the Board of County Commissioners adopted changes to Deschutes County Code 10.05 that remove the provision which allowed campaigns to obtain permits to temporarily place political signs within public road rights of way. The changes went into effect on December 13, 2023.
“Improperly placed political signs along a road can compromise the safety of all road users by interfering with official traffic control devices, restricting sight lines, and causing distractions,” said Chris Doty, Deschutes County Road Department Director. “The change aligns us with other public road agencies in Central Oregon.”
It is the responsibility of political campaigns and their supporters to ensure that signs are not placed in public road rights of way. Political signs placed within a public road right of way under the jurisdiction of Deschutes County will be removed by the Deschutes County Road Department. Property owners and political campaigns can determine the approximate location of public road right of way boundaries by using the interactive map on the Deschutes County Dial website: dial.deschutes.org/Real/InteractiveMap.
Campaign signs can still be posted on private properties with landowner permission.
For information regarding the placement of political signs adjacent to a state highway, please contact the Oregon Department of Transportation through their website at oregon.gov/odot/pages/ask-odot.aspx.
