Ballot Access Information

TIPS FOR PETITIONING

GETTING READY
1 Obtain voter registration cards and mail ballot cards from your local county elections office.
2 Clipboards allow more mobility than tables. On the back, I tape (2" clear box tape) a piece of heavy paper or light cardboard that covers about half of the board. This makes a pocket for the voter cards and a handout. I also write, in large letters, what we are petitioning for. This time I wrote " GREEN PARTY BALLOT ACCESS" and I hold it so people walking by can see it. I have a pen in my hand and extra forms in my shoulder bag. Put a blank piece of paper behind your petitions, with name, address, phone and email at the top. This is for people who might want to join your group.
3 Tabling gives you room for more stuff and you can sit down. If you want to table in front of a store, be sure to get permission first, in advance if possible. Some stores have special rules and forms to fill out, and some managers have to ask permission from their district offices. If they allow you to table, be sure to locate your table away from the doors. Large stores are getting less and less co-operative.
4 Door to door will allow you to target house districts that you need to qualify for ballot access. Take clipboards (see #2)
5 A small handout is always good. I am including one that I made, which is one third of a sheet of paper. It has the 10 Key Values on one side, and a short questionnaire and contact information on the other.

CUSTOMER RELATIONS
1 Smile; be polite and friendly. Always thank them for their signatures.
2 Ask if they are registered voters. If not, offer them a voter registration card and a vote by mail card. This year the vote by mail cards include a box to check if they want it permanently. This is a great option for disabled, elderly and people who just like the convenience. If they want to fill out the voter registration card and have you turn it in, that’s fine. They can go ahead and sign the petition. Turn in voter cards at least a week before the petition, so the election workers have time to process them first.

FILLING OUT THE FORMS AND TURNING THEM IN
1 Only one county is allowed on each petition sheet.
2 You can take signatures from people who live in counties other than your own. Just make a separate sheet for that county, and mail it to the correct county election office at the end of petitioning.
3 Before turning in petitions, make copies. That way you will have a back-up if the elections people lose any of the petitions.
4 When turning in petitions, you may have up to 25 petitions with one affidavit. The affidavit must be notarized. This service is offered free at county courthouses for petitions. You must sign your name in front of the notary and show ID. Then turn the forms in to the elections office. Keep the receipt they give you with your copies of the petitions.

GOOD LOCATIONS
1 Farmers markets, grocery stores (get permission), libraries (get permission to be inside).
2 In front of grocery stores if you can get permission.
3 All sidewalks are public property, so you can petition on the sidewalk in front of businesses.
4 Meetings you usually go to.