The City has been made aware of a complaint filed with the Shelby County District Attorney's Office regarding political signs and the upcoming municipal school referendum. The essence of the complaint was that some signs relating to the referendum were illegal because they did not contain disclaimer language indicating who had paid for the signs. While the motivations of those filing the complaint are not known at this point in time, the City is concerned about any activity that may have a chilling effect on public participation, especially as regards an issue of such importance to the City as the municipal schools referendum.
The City Attorney has communicated directly with the Attorney General's Office and the State Coordinator of Elections regarding this matter. Anonymous issue-oriented speech (e.g. signs encouraging citizens to vote one way or another in the upcoming referendum) is protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and as such, no disclaimer is required on signs encouraging a vote in one way or another on the municipal schools referendum. Please contact City Hall if anyone tries to convince you that your sign is illegal because it does not contain disclaimer language.
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