Citizen Actions to Promote the Common Good: Petitioning

A petition is a specific request (in writing) of some public official or person in authority that is signed by many individuals.   Official petitions, with language and form approved by the state, are used to place an issue on the ballot for a vote of the people (referendum or initiatives).  These can include passing or repealing laws; recalling legislators, or even amending the state constitution.  Laws governing these initiative petitions and referendum vary from state to state.

Less formal petitions can be used by groups to impact law makers on specific issues.   The more signatures collected, the greater the pressure on an elected official to yield to public pressure.  These petitions can also be used to expand an organization’s database, especially if the petitions are available on line or if emails are included on the sheet.  Having a list of supporters on one issue can lead to identifying supporters on similar issues in the future.

In general, these are some guidelines for petitions:

1. Use a header to explain the reason for the petition
2. Be able explain the background of the situation in one or two concise sentences.
3. State precisely what you want to done and how the action is to be carried out
4. Indicate where and to whom you are going to send the petition
5. Collect the name, address and signature and email of people who agree with you.
6. Number the forms and number each line of the form so that you can easily tell how many signatures you have collected.
7. Recruit volunteers to get signatures for the petition
8. Plan your strategy to ensure petition campaign gets as much media exposure as possible