MADISON, Wis. — Drive through any city or on any highway in the state, and chances are there is at least one political sign staked in the ground.

But behind the sign is much more than just advocacy for a candidate or an idea.

“This is absolutely the core of why there is free speech in the first place,” said UW-Madison professor Howard Schweber. “People usually use yard signs for political expression and political speech is what sometimes is called ‘core speech.'”

If there is any speech that will be protected, it will be political speech, but that does not mean that there are no limitations to it.

“Don’t block traffic, don’t be so loud that we can hear you five miles away, don’t light things on fire — even as part of a political protest,” Schweber said.

Generally, cities cannot police the content of political speech but can impose limits on how you conduct it.

“We regulate the method and not the message,” said Matt Tucker, the director of the city of Madison’s building inspection division. “What that means is size, heights, placement, method of illumination.”

For example, signs in Madison need to be placed 10 feet away from the street and on your own property — part of that is to ensure visibility of the street for cars and pedestrians and also to make sure signs are not placed in dangerous areas.

There is also a season for the signs, starting when candidates start circulating nomination papers and ending the night of the election. Outside of that window in Madison, generally only one non-commercial sign is allowed, though corner lots can have two). During that window, however, Madison residents can have a sign for each race on the ballot.

Do signs that carry vulgar language pose a problem? Schweber says it is a little bit more complex.

“That’s something that the government is allowed to regulate in order to prevent children from being exposed to it,” Schweber said.

That is akin to certain words that cannot be said on TV or radio — like the George Carlin bit. That regulation is not universal, however.

“They’re not allowed to ban it because adults have a right to use that kind of language to hear and to read that kind of language,” Schweber said.

“The analogy is a nuisance law,” he added.  “It’s called quiet enjoyment. You can enjoy your property however you like but not if it interferes with other people’s ability to enjoy their property.”

Despite those limitations, some groups see yard signs as an opportunity to start a conversation.

“Not so wordy that you can’t digest it,” Ellen Holly said, as she pointed to one of the yard signs on display at the Walworth County Democratic Party offices.

The rural county is an uphill fight for Democrats — it is traditionally Republican and rural. With traditional roadside billboards posing a financial hurdle, they opted for another option.

“We have seven, eight, nine different messages, and they are put out with (the) owner’s permission on good locations,” Holly said. “They’re rotated every few weeks, so it’s like a little mini billboard.”

News 3 Now also reached out to the state Republican Party to get in touch with people working on similar efforts on their side, but no one was available.

Holly says the Walworth Democrats have been honing their message to appeal to a rural, conservative audience, and that values first — not candidates — have proven to be a successful way to find common ground.

“We are looking at values and how that ties into issues, and how that ties into the candidates, and why they should vote,” she said. “It’s a great way to spark conversation.”

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