State asks campaigns to pull election signs from highway rights-of-way

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities asked campaigns and volunteers Wednesday to pull their signs out of state highway rights-of-way now that the election is over, stakes included.

There were more signs this season than its crews could keep up with, the department said in a Facebook post. Crews are clearing what they can, but the department "would rather have crews plowing snow this winter than pulling stakes out of ditches."

Those signs weren't supposed to be there in the first place. Campaign signs are illegal in state highway rights-of-way, election season or not. The department says they can block drivers' view, distract them and delay maintenance, and crews can pull them without notice.

Right-of-way boundaries aren't always easy to see on the ground, so the department posts maps at dot.alaska.gov/campaignsigns.

Signs on private property are a different story. Alaska law declares that the state "shall forever remain free of billboards," but under a 2018 court judgment in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU of Alaska and others, the state can't use that law against small, temporary campaign signs on private land outside the right-of-way. They can be up to 32 square feet, about 4 by 8 feet, and must be displayed by owners or residents who aren't paid for it.

Getting a pulled sign back costs at least $50 per sign, paid within 30 days at one of the department's regional right-of-way offices, under state rules. After that, the department may dispose of it.

Pulling them out yourself is free.