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SALT LAKE CITY — There are plenty of campaign signs sprouting up near streets, featuring not just municipal elections but a special congressional election to replace Rep. Chris Stewart, who announced in May he is stepping down from office.
And as the primary and general election dates near, likely resulting in more campaign signs, the Utah Department of Transportation is reminding candidates to keep those signs out of the state's rights of way, which include state highways, medians, road shoulders, sound walls, on-ramps, off-ramps, overpasses, adjoining fence lines or any land between the fence line and road surface, as outlined in state code.
The Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office on Friday shared on social media an undated letter that UDOT executive director Carlos Braceras sent to election candidates, reminding them of the law and explaining that illegally placed signs can "can create serious safety issues for the traveling public and UDOT employees."
"Signs can negatively impact visibility and create hazardous debris on the road if they become loose," he wrote. "UDOT crews, who are responsible for retrieving these signs near live traffic, are unnecessarily exposed to the danger of being hit by distracted and speeding drivers."
Braceras adds that clearing these signs also takes crews away from "important work" on the state's roadways. Signs that are removed are moved to a UDOT maintenance shed through the end of an election.
There are other local roadway rules that "vary among cities and counties," Braceras also noted in the letter.
Utah's primary election is on Sept. 5, after Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill the Utah Legislature passed to accommodate the special congressional election. This year's general election, including municipal races, was also pushed back, falling on Nov. 21 now.
