A Monroe City Council race in North Carolina has taken an unexpected turn after Republican candidate Michelle Ball posted a photo of herself holding an anti-Ball campaign sign, which is a stunt that runs afoul of state election law. As critics began slamming her actions online, Ball later confirmed she had been charged with a “minor” citation.
The image, shared to Ball’s social media, shows her pointing and laughing at a sign that reads “No More Foul Ball, Hard No For Monroe” a play on her surname and a clear jab from political opponents. In the photo, Ball appears to be holding or otherwise handling the sign as part of the mockery.
What may have been intended as a lighthearted swipe has instead triggered backlash, as users over on the True Carolina subreddit quickly flagged a potential legal issue. Under North Carolina General Statute § 136-32, removing or defacing a legally placed political sign is a Class 3 misdemeanor.
“Tampering with an election sign is a Class 3 Misdemeanor,” one commenter wrote. “She’ll just say she didn’t steal it from a yard, she found it laying around and it’ll go away.”
The controversy deepened when a commenter surfaced what appears to be a previous instance of Ball highlighting the very same statute, presumably in response to concerns about campaign sign tampering in the past.
Ball Confirms Citation
Michelle Ball has since publicly confirmed that she received a minor citation tied to the sign incident. In a Facebook post, she wrote:
“For transparency: yes, I received a minor citation tied to a previous post about a sign that I got a picture with and put it right back and some opponents didn’t like that. It’s been addressed.”
For now, what began as a laugh at a roadside sign has turned into a somewhat embarrassing political boo-boo for Ball. It’s unlikely to seriously impact her campaign, and she was quick to palm the incident off as a minor distraction. Time will tell whether Monroe voters feel the same way.
