By Right to Vote on The Gas Tax PAC / StopTheGasTax.com
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Our recent mailbag shows how one person copied their petition and then gathered 23 signatures over three copied sheets. Every sheet and all 23 names are invalid because the person forgot to copy the backside of the petition.
Even if they did copy the backside, all three petition sheets are still voided because their copier shrunk the petition sheet and cut off words off the petition.
As seen above, once someone copies a petition, their mistake is duplicated for every petition copy they make and it multiplies the error.
Here is what happens when people make their own copies of petitions:
- People copying petitions forget to copy the back of the petitions. It breaks our heart to get one-sided petitions turned into the campaign.
- People copy petitions at different paper-weight levels. It may sound peculiar, but the Elections Office will only accept certain types of copy paper. Copy paper that leans toward super-light or more-heavy than normal will be disqualified.
- People copy petitions on different color paper. Oh dear! People like to copy petitions in nice-looking ivory or super-bright paper, and yes, this voids all the names on the sheet.
- Some copy machines will shrink the size of the petition. If repeated, the petition noticeably shrinks and becomes void.
- If people are told they can copy petitions, they automatically assume they can scan them to make copies. Upon scanning, we get all kinds of shrinkage to the petition, which causes the petition to be voided.
We know your frustration at not being able to copy petitions and we understand it. Please know that this good-faith practice among different petition campaigns helps us rescue thousands of signatures from being voided during a campaign cycle.
Be patient with your local petition effort.