Stop stealing my sign!
Posted: 10.09.2012 at 8:52 PM
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EL PASO COUNTY, COLO. -- A small sign of political expression in a big election year has Democrats and Republicans complaining about stolen signs.

"That was my freedom of speech that was my expression, and participation in politics in this country,"  Holly Coco, who's Mitt Romney sign was stolen said.  "It was like how could you steal that, how could you steal my voice."

CoCo's Mitt Romney sign was stolen while she was on vacation but she saw the whole thing happen thanks to surveillance video of her frontyard.

The El Paso County Democratic Party said they've been getting three to five phone calls a day, over the past month, from voters angry about their destroyed property.

"It feels like a violation, you know someone coming onto your property and taking your sign typically in the middle of the night," Christy Le Lait, Executive Director of the El Paso County Democratic Party said.

But it's more than a violation of personal space, according to the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder it's a crime.

Vandals can be held criminally liable and face a $750 fine for every sign they steal because we're less than 45 days away from the presidential election.

"I have to say I wake up in the morning and I check my sign, I know it's kind of silly but it's important to me," CoCo said.

It's so important to the El Paso County Democratic and Republican parties they issued a joint statement urging locals to call the police or county if they become a victim.