Guideline for Election Postering

The use of election posters is governed by litter, electoral, road safety and planning laws which restrict placement and the time at which election posters may be displayed.

The legislation governing placement of posters at election time is The Litter Pollution Act 1997 as amended by the Electoral (Amendment)(No.2) Act 2009. The legislation provides that erection of posters is only permitted from the date the order is made by the Minister appointing the polling day or 30 days prior to the date of the poll, whichever is the shorter period.

For the 2024 Local Elections, the date that posters can be erected is Wednesday, 8 May 2024.  Posters and cable ties must be removed by midnight on Friday, 14 June 2024.

Putting up Posters

The Road Traffic Acts contain requirements in relation to maintaining clear lines of sight for road users which may impact on where posters can be placed, e.g. not on road signs, at traffic junctions or on roundabouts where they may cause road safety risks.

It is an offence to erect any sign or notice that makes a traffic sign less visible to road users (Road Traffic Act 1961, Section 95, Subsection 14).

Those erecting posters should exercise extreme caution when on or near roadways and should be aware of their own and other road users’ physical safety, e.g. crossing busy roads, obstructing footpaths, parking of vehicles etc.

To avoid safety risks and disruption to motorists and pedestrians in relation to election posters please note the following:

Posters must not be placed on roundabouts, motorways, near junctions or anywhere that would obscure statutory road signage, traffic, or pedestrian signals.

Posters should not be erected on lamp standards with overhead line electricity feed, traffic signal poles, bridge parapets, overpasses, pedestrian bridges, or roadside traffic barriers.

There should be a minimum clearance of 2.5 metres (8ft) from the lower edge of any poster to ground level on footpaths and 3.2metres (10ft) on cycle lanes.

If a poster is erected below this level, it can cause obstructions on footpaths and can be distracting and hazardous to the visually impaired.

Signs must be securely fixed at their location.

Posters should be securely fixed to poles with cable ties or similar material to facilitate removal without damage to the poles.

No adhesives or metal fixings are permitted.

Cable ties should not protrude at a level that could cause injury to pedestrians or cyclists.

Candidates are reminded that no claims for damages arising from placing, displaying or removal of their posters will lie with the Council, and they may consider it appropriate to take out Public Liability Insurance in this regard.

Use of posters around polling stations

Under the Electoral Acts, posters may not be displayed within 50 metres of a polling station. This restriction takes effect 30 minutes before the official commencement of polling and lasts until 30 minutes after the polls have closed. Contravention of this requirement can result in a prison sentence of up to 2 years.

Placing posters on parked vehicles

It is not an offence under the Litter Pollution Acts. However, Section 9 of the Act does make it an offence to place adverts on mechanically propelled vehicles unless they are secured by mechanical means e.g. prohibits placement of flyers on windscreen wipers (this does not include paint, emboss, inscribe or the application by any method of transfer letters, figures or images on or to the body of the vehicle).

Putting posters on billboards

Posters on billboards are considered to be commercial advertising rather than election postering. As such any person may purchase this advertising at any time of the year to advertise their product/service. There are planning regulations relevant to this type of advertising space which should be checked with Longford County Council’s planning department.

Information on an election poster

Under electoral legislation, a poster must have printed on its face the name and address of the printer and of the publisher of the poster. The omission of the name and address of the printer and publisher is an offence.

Where a person is guilty of an offence, such person shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months or to both such a fine and such imprisonment.

Removal of posters by Longford County Council

Election posters in place before or after the stipulated timeframe are deemed to be in breach of the legislation and are subject to an on-the-spot litter fine in accordance with the Litter Pollution Act.

Election posters that do not comply with the conditions above may be removed and disposed by the Council.

The associated fixing arrangement, particularly plastic/cable ties, must be removed at the same time the poster is being removed.

Where the Council incurs costs in the removal of posters, costs may be recovered from the candidate.