Instructions
Instructions
- 1Find out if your state allows for the petition and initiative process by visiting
the National Conference of State Legislatures website. This website offers an updated listing of states that allow the initiative process. The initiative process allows voters to use signed petitions to get measures passed. - 2Review your state's requirements for the preparation of ballot measures. To find the specific requirements for filing, visit your Secretary of State's website. It is important to make note of signature requirements as well.
- 3Draft your petition. This preliminary file will be submitted to the designated state agency and reviewed for its conformance with specific requirements laid out by the state. This may not be the final draft, but it should be prepared completely and edited multiple times to ensure it is error free.
- 4Meet with potential sponsors. Sponsors are not a requirement in the petition process, but they can make the process much easier. Many sponsors will cover marketing costs, fees and other campaign expenditures. Many also will provide volunteers. Consider companies, unions or private groups that stand to benefit from the measure you are proposing. When contacting an organization, reach out to its Legislative Committee or chairperson first.
- 5File your preliminary petition with the proper state official. If your state has a filing fee, it will most likely be due upon receipt of your petition.
- 6Follow your state's requirements to get a title and summary completed and reviewed. Depending on your state's process, the title and summary may assigned by a board or state official. In some states, sponsors are expected to write the title.
- 7Circulate the petition to obtain the required number of signatures. Follow your individual state's requirements for petition circulators and signers.
- 8Submit the required signatures to the specified election official. Designated state officials will verify the signatures and if enough signatures are found, the measure is added to the ballot, or in cases of indirect initiatives, sent to the legislature.
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Tips & Warnings
- Consider hiring professional petition writers and signature gatherers to ensure that all requirements are met. Working with people who have experience meeting your state's petition requirements can save valuable time. Many sponsoring organizations will have experienced writers and volunteers on-hand who can help with this step.
- Have your petition reviewed by an attorney or legislator before you submit it
- Always collect more signatures than are required to make room for those that may be deemed invalid. An additional 10 percent or more should provide enough of a buffer so that you won't fall below the required number once the review process is completed.
- Review your state's requirements for the proper collection, management and use of political fundraising dollars. It is critical that all donations and expenditures be properly tracked and accounted for. Consider hiring an experienced political fundraiser to handle this portion of your campaign.
- Always review your state's requirements before submitting your proposal.
Read more : http://www.ehow.com/how_6457643_law-passed-petition.html
How to Start a Petition to Get Legislation on a Ballot
Currently, less than half of the U.S. states permit the initiative process, and limitations on how to carry out the process vary from state to state. Knowing the laws in your state will help ensure a successful petition drive
Instructions
- 1Contact the office of the Secretary of State in your state and request a copy of the initiative and referendum handbook. Read it thoroughly before you proceed with drafting a petition for your proposed initiative.
- 2Get online and research the initiative process, starting at a major search engine like Google or Yahoo. You can pick up a lot of information, helpful hints and advice from Web sites that deal with this topic.
- 3Draw up your proposed petition according to the law as expressed in the handbook you obtained in Step 1.
- 4Submit the petition for review and pay a registration or processing fee if required. In some states, the review consists of simple approval of the title and format, while in other states a complete legal review is required.
- 5Begin circulating the petition if it is approved. The state may provide the petitions, or you may have to take the approved form and copy it at your own expense. Again, this varies from state to state.
- 6Gather as many signatures as are needed to get the initiative on the ballot. The number of signatures is usually determined by the percentage of votes cast in your state's last election for governor. For example, in California, a petition must contain the signatures of 8 percent of the total votes cast for the position of governor in the last election. This number goes as high as 15 percent in some states.
- 7Return the signed petitions within the allotted time. All states that have the initiative process have deadlines relative to the election.
- 8Wait while the signatures on the petitions are verified. (All signers must be registered voters within the state, and in some states signatures must be collected from specified geographical areas.)
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Tips & Warnings
- The following states currently have the initiative process: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah and Washington.
- Currently, you cannot sign an initiative petition online. A petition for an initiative that would allow this in California is circulating and may appear on the ballot soon.
- Professional signature gatherers can be hired in some states to circulate petitions.
- If you fail to gather enough signatures on your petition, your initiative will generally be automatically rejected. It is suggested that you exceed the number of signatures required by a comfortable margin, as some are almost always discarded when they cannot be verified.
Read more : http://www.ehow.com/how_16374_start-petition-legislation.html
How to Start a Petition Drive
If you want a new recreation park in your neighborhood or you oppose the mayor and want to remove him from office, a petition drive can show the decision makers that you mean business. Roll up your sleeves and prepare to make a difference in your world. Read on to learn more.
. Roll up your sleeves and prepare to make a difference in your world. Read on to learn more.Instructions
- 1Gather your strongest supporters. Petition drives need many people to canvas for signatures. The more participation, the greater your chance is of success. Run an ad in the local newspaper and on the radio informing everyone of a start-up meeting.
- 2Word your petition carefully to reflect exactly what you want to accomplish. If you are planning to challenge a community law or regulation, be sure you state a concise goal. Include enough space for signers to include their names, addresses and phone numbers. Verification checking may be necessary later.
- 3Decide on an opening statement for volunteers to use when approaching potential signers. Some people need a general script to help them get started.
- 4Hit the pavement. Volunteers feel more comfortable in pairs when going door to door. Assign partners and specific neighborhoods for each team to canvas. Remember to send petition drive teams to the local shopping mall, grocery stores and public gatherings.
- 5Plan to meet at a designated time and place to discuss everyone's success. Hold a couple of progress meetings along the way to check on volunteers and see if they need additional help with their assigned area.
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How to Draw Up a Petition
Petitions are written and submitted to law- or decision-making bodies in an effort to change an existing situation or rule. They ask that a certain action be taken. Some bodies require petitions to be in a certain format or to be submitted a certain way. Others may be less formal. Follow a few steps and tips as you write your petition in order to create a document that will initiate change.
that will initiate change.Instructions
- 1Contact the law-making or decision-making body to which you intend to submit your petition. Find out if it has any specific format or procedures for the submission of petitions. You may have to use a certain signature form, have a minimum number of original signers, or turn in the petition to a particular office by a particular date before the committee you want to review your petition meets.
- 2State the request you have at the top of the first page. Include the request at the top of each page of signatures. Briefly describe the situation and what action you want to be taken.
- 3Include facts, incidents and statistics to bolster any claims you make. Cite your references as well. This will lend credence to the arguments you make in your petition and make it more likely that your petition will be seriously considered by those it is meant to influence.
- 4Draw a line under your background and request statement. Design a chart that includes four columns and as many rows as will fit on a page. Label the columns from left to right: Full Name, Address, Signature and Date. You may also want to include a column for phone number and email address. As your signatures and other information will be handwritten, it is important that you make the rows and columns big enough for all of the information to fit in them easily.
- 5Copy several pages of your petition so that you have plenty of room for all of the signatures you can get. Keep your statement at the top of the page short and to the point so that signers can review it in as short an amount of time as possible.
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How to Write a Petition by Hand
Instructions
- 1Research the cause you are fighting for. The petition sets out to change something, so you first need to understand exactly what it aims to change. If the city council has authorized cutting down an area of woodlands to make space for a football field, find out the facts. Speak to the council about the exact plans, the impact on the local wildlife, how many people will use the field and the alternatives, such as using disused industrial area instead.
- 2Write down the names of the individuals to whom you will be sending the petition. Find out their names, their positions and what their role is with regards to the cause you are petitioning for or against. As you collect signatures, you need to explain exactly who and what these people do, and how the petition might affect their decisions.
- 3Identify the target of the petition. Write down two or three clear and concise sentences to explain what the person signing the petition is supporting. Include the key players, such as the council, school, sports club or political party: "This petition opposes the removal of woodlands because ...."
- 4Start writing the petition. At the top of the lined paper, write out the target individuals and cause you have identified. Then, write down one sentence that the person signing the signature will clearly understand, for example: "This neighborhood rejects the plans for the chemical plant."
- 5Draw a line underneath the title information. Now, make four columns on the page. The first is a narrow column --- it is simply a count of signatures. Write 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and so forth down the column, one number per line. The next column is titled "Name." Write "Contact Details (Address/ Email/ Telephone)" in the third column, and add "Signature" in the fourth column. Space them accordingly.
- 6Draft a letter to support the petition signatures. Address it to the individuals identified during Step 2. Focus on exactly why and who opposes the subject of the petition. Include any evidence you have discovered through your research to explain the ill effects of the change to be implemented --- on local people, wildlife, organizations, shops or sports clubs, for example.
- 7Collect the signatures required. Staple the draft letter to the front of the page.
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Read more : http://www.ehow.com/how_8759486_write-petition-hand.html
How to Draft a Community Petition
As a committed resident or a member of a community council, you may want to see specific changes to how things are done in your community and wonder how to go about circulating your message. Drafting a petition can provide you with support for your cause, and may encourage officials to take notice of what the community wants. You should know how to draft a community petition before you begin to avoid making mistakes that will contradict the validity of your petition.
Instructions
- 1Find out your government’s requirements for the number of signatures on a petition. You may do this by calling your local city hall or mayor’s office. Find out if they have any requirements for how the petition must be circulated to ensure that all signatures you request will remain valid.
- 2Develop a timeline for when you want to have all the required signatures. Reserve enough time to verify that that there are no repeated names, and leave yourself ample time to turn the petition in.
- 3Write out your petition message. Identify the problem and how you believe it should be solved, as well as a clear goal or a method to solve the problem. Write an explanation that discusses your concerns, and demand that the person, government or organization make specific changes to improve the problem. Lay out any arguments that you have, and conclude with your demands or what you want those responsible to do to address the problem. You should generally begin your arguments by being general and then become more specific. Close by asking the government or other group responsible to make the change. Make sure that each page of the petition has the petition message, and that you leave adequate space for signatures on the petition draft.
- 4Review your petition message to make sure that it is free of spelling and grammatical errors before finalizing the draft of the petition.
- 5Circulate your petitions within your community by going door-to-door, passing them around workplaces, taking it to groups and getting involved with local groups. You may also find that local stores or businesses have a sign at events to help you distribute your petition.
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Read more : http://www.ehow.com/how_5873786_draft-community-petition.html
Of the four general types of petitions, legal and political petitions must meet specific requirements to be considered valid. Public-purpose and online viral petitions can't be "valid" in the legal sense because they are not legal documents and there are no requirements for them. However, they can be valuable community organizing tools if they're well designed and delivered. Have a question? Get an answer from a lawyer now!
Read more : http://www.ehow.com/about_6661409_petition-valid_.html
What Makes a Petition Valid?
Of the four general types of petitions, legal and political petitions must meet specific requirements to be considered valid. Public-purpose and online viral petitions can't be "valid" in the legal sense because they are not legal documents and there are no requirements for them. However, they can be valuable
community organizing tools if they're well designed and delivered. Have a question? Get an answer from a lawyer now!Legal petitions
- A legal petition asks a court to issue a specific order in a pending case or lawsuit. Attorneys file the petitions according to the court's rules of civil or criminal procedure. The judge's decision whether to grant the petition depends on many factors, including legal precedents, arguments of the opposing party and the facts of the dispute.
Political Petitions
- A valid political petition follows the rules set by the state or federal government. A political candidate files a nominating petition to indicate that she has enough public support to justify including her name on the ballot. Each signer must sign the form personally, be a U.S. citizen, a registered voter, live in the candidate's election district and include a home address. Petitions to recall elected officials follow similar rules. Ballot initiative petitions include the specific wording of the ballot question and follow the same signing conditions as other political petitions.
Public-Purpose Petitions
- The first amendment to the U.S. Constitution ensures our right to "petition the government for a redress of grievances." It does not guarantee that our petitions are always granted. Public-purpose petitions ask officials to take, or not take, a particular action. Organizers can direct petitions to an individual, a government body or an administrative department. They can ask for mundane or sweeping public-policy actions, such as installing a stop sign or establishing a universal health-care system.
Internet Viral Petitions
- Viral petitions appear in your email inbox. They are usually vague, altruistic and unfocused, and they often lack a specific purpose or target. Organizers who promote them often don't understand civics or the political process. Viral petitions are more effective in raising public awareness and money for an issue than in changing public policy.
Effectiveness of Viral or Public-Purpose Petitions
- There are no legal requirements for public or viral petitions, but the most successful ones follow a traditional format. They include a brief, clear statement of purpose, supporting facts, a request for action and signatures of citizens. Organizers should deliver them to the person, group, or department with the power to make the change that the public wants. Community organizers often arrange media photo opportunities to present thousands of petition signatures to government officials.While public-purpose petitions are not as effective as personal meetings or individual letters, legislators know that those signatures represent people who care about that issue, probably enough to affect their votes.
Read more : http://www.ehow.com/about_6661409_petition-valid_.html
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