In Texas you are not required to sign the ticket. They ask but you can refuse. Your signature is merely an agreement to appear in court so if you don’t sign it only means they can/cannot file a Failure to Appear if you do/don’t.
In West Virginia back in the 1980's if you refused to sign the ticket, you were escorted straight to the closest courthouse and a magistrate either heard the case immediately or ordered you to appear on a certain date. I've heard the law has been changed so essentially it doesn't matter if you sign or not, the Officer just notes on the ticket that you refused to sign, but you are still legally bound to pay the ticket or dispute it in court.
That’s the case in Florida. I expect it is in most states.
Still, one is entitled to *read* it before signing. Although the few tickets I’ve gotten over many years were all completely illegible.
Well, technically if you don't sign, they can arrest you and take you in for booking. When you sign, you are promising to appear in court, so you are being released on your own recognizance. If you refuse to sign, you are essentially saying you may not show up in court, so they then have the option to book you and force you to post bond to insure that you show up.