Editor's note: This story was originally published on May 4, 2018. It's been updated and reshared as we get closer to the election due to social media posts we've seen and calls from viewers.
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It's election season in Macon, which means just about anywhere there's traffic, campaigns are trying to catch your attention with their signs.
But are they allowed to be there?
According to Macon-Bibb spokesperson Chris Floore, that depends on where they're placed.
"With local and state code, it is actually illegal to place signs of any kind in the public right of way," said Floore.
What is the best way to locate the right of way? According to Floore, it's the presence of telephone poles.
He says if the sign is further away from the road than the pole, it's likely outside the public right of way.
As long as the property owner has given permission for the sign to be planted there, it's alright to stay.
However, signs placed between the road and the pole, or even in line with the pole, are likely in the right of way.
We say likely because right of ways vary for every street. Floore says the only way to be sure is to call Macon-Bibb Public Works at 478-803-0490.
However, Floore says looking for telephone poles is a strong rule of thumb in Macon, and Georgia Department of Transportation spokesperson Kimberly Larson says power poles are the best right of way indicators on state roads.
Floore says it's not just political signs either. He says any sign posted in local right of ways is illegal. However, election years are typically the worst for the crews that collect illegal signs.
He says a crew could remove signs from an area but, "The issue becomes just like litter -- as soon as we pick up the signs, the signs come back the next day."
Larson notes that on the state level, some signs can be placed in the right of way if they're approved and permitted to be there. However, Larson says that involves an application to a local GDOT office.
Many are not approved and she says "it's not unusual for GDOT maintenance employees to uproot several hundred signs during an election year."
In Macon, Floore estimates that crews collect between 500 and 750 illegally placed signs during election years.
If you see one, he says there's a way you can notify the county.
"Submit requests to us through our online app 'SeeClickFix,' which sends a request directly to a department and our department of public works tries to fill that as quickly as possible," said Floore.