One of the ugly curses of the political season is the campaign signs that barrage residents' sight-lines as they drive and walk around the county.

While name recognition may be important, quite frankly, we have never voted for a candidate because of his political sign.

However, we have voted against a candidate because of his political sign that we felt was particularly ridiculous or misleading.

The state of Georgia and our city and county have clear rules affecting the placement of signs on public right of way, and if a potential candidate, or his or her supporters, places a campaign sign on property illegally, how can we trust them to follow the rules once in office. Yes, mistakes are made, particularly by volunteers who don't know better, but the rules aren't hard to follow and it's not hard to instruct volunteers.

Speaking of unethical campaign signs, one candidate, who is a former member of the Georgia house, is asking voters to re-elect him even though he was ousted in the last election. Though the wording is not technically false, we feel it's misleading and an attempt to fool people into thinking you're the incumbent.

So keep an eye out for signs, and if you notice someone who repeatedly breaks the rules, think twice before casting a ballot for that candidate.