When holiday lights hang around lamp posts and half-inflated snowmen adorn front yards, it means it’s time for one ornament of Election Day Past to come down — campaign signs.

Under D.C. law, any posters, placards, or signs related to the election in public spaces need to be removed within 30 days of the event — meaning that by tomorrow, Dec. 8 (yes, it’s been an entire month, somehow) all of those rectangles taped to street lights and road signs must be removed.

Candidates don’t have to remove the signs themselves (some recruit volunteers to help), but they are responsible for the fine that accompanies a sign overstaying its welcome.

For relatively small posters, the regulation of campaign signs involves a large web of government agencies. The Office of Campaign Finance requires that each sign reflects who paid for it, while the Board of Elections makes sure those signs stay at least 50 feet away from a polling location. And the Department of Transportation handles any signs that are posted beyond those 50 feet, and also levies fines when those signs don’t come down. If a sign stays up past the deadline, a candidate incurs a $150 fine for a first violation. If they somehow make it to a fourth violation, the number jumps to $2,000.

These laws only apply to campaign signage in public spaces — so residents could keep their yard sign up forever, if they wanted.