Campaign signs are lining the streets as early voting gets underway and election day is just around the corner. Their purpose is to sway a voter but with a harder look, they all have a “paid for by” disclaimers on them.

“Any group of two or more that are opposing an issue or supporting an issue or candidate need that disclaimer on the sign,” Tom McCabe, Director of the Mahoning County Board of Elections said.

It's a requirement across Ohio made by the Secretary of State's Office. If a sign is made by a group and does not have the “paid for by” disclaimer they could be fined by the Ohio Elections Commission.

However, those rules do not apply to people making their own signs to put in their personal yards. 

“An individual that wants to support an issue or oppose an issue that's doing it out of their garage or living room they don't need to do that. It’s a first amendment right,” McCabe said. 

It becomes a gray area when a sign is made by one person and they start handing them out. In years past, the Ohio Elections Commission has ruled that a singular person making signs and handing them out does have to follow the same rules that groups do and has to have the disclaimer. 

The Mahoning County Board of Elections gets complaints about signs every election but they don’t enforce the disclaimer rule, only the Ohio Elections Commission does. Typically, if a first time candidate or committee does not have the disclaimer on their sign - the board of elections office will let them know and have them put a sticker on the sign or write the disclaimer on it to make it acceptable.

The National Conference of State Legislatures states, having the disclaimers is a way to foster transparency and accountability in the political process.