Green Party of Pennsylvania - 2014 Petitioning Instructions
Thank you for helping to get the Green Party nominated candidates on the ballot. We need 16,000+ valid
signatures for our Governor and Lt. Governor candidates so our actual goal is 30,000+ signatures. As there will
always be those who have moved, married and changed their name, whose writing is not legible, or whose
information was incorrectly entered by the registrar, it is assumed that we will need double the required number to
be safe from challenges. Your efforts toward this goal are vital to the work of the Green Party, and your care in
following the instructions below will help insure that our nomination papers withstand the expected scrutiny.
Nomination paper information
Section A: Preamble
Enter in which ever county you are collecting signatures for. It should say "Green Party" for political body (item
1). Note, bring along blank petitions with you (blank in terms of county) so if you meet someone from an
outlying county, you can start a new petition for them on the spot.
Section B: Candidate Information
This section should already be complete with the candidate offices, names, addresses, and occupations. Only
candidates that have been nominated by the Green Party should be listed. Since this is not a Presidential
year, the Presidential Electors section remains blank.
Section C: Committee to Fill Vacancies
This section should already be complete, as well, with the names of the four members of the Green Party who
will act as the Committee of the Political Body for the sake of this filing.
Section D: Signatures of Electors (i.e. registered voters)
Here is the fun part. Please collect signatures from people who live in Pennsylvania and are eligible to vote.
Signers can be registered with any party or as independent. If they are not residents of the primary county for
which you are circulating, please have them sign on the appropriate county nominating paper. If a signer
makes an error, they should cross out the entire line and start over on the next line.
If you run into someone who is not registered, or needs to change their registration, have them fill out a voter
registration form before they sign and mail the registration form the same day if practical. If not, collect the
signature anyway.
Each voter may only sign one nomination paper for a given office, so if they have signed a petition for a
primary candidate, they can still sign for an independent or Green Party candidate for the November election.
It is important that you instruct signers as they sign and fill in the information. You should also look over the
signatures to be sure that an error does not propagate down the sheet as additional people sign.
Signature: Each registered voter (elector) should sign first. If a signature is challenged, it will be compared
with the signature on the voter registration form filed with the board of elections.
Printed Name: Each signer should then legibly print their name as on their last voter registration.
Place of Residence: Each signer should legibly print their street address which they used when they last
registered to vote, including the city or township. They do not need the zip code.
Date of Signing: Each signer should write the date, including the year. Prompting with the correct date is
useful, and some have used a post-it note on the top of the petition with "today's date is...". If the dates on
a nomination paper are not in proper order, signatures that are out of order will be disqualified. Beware of
incorrect dates or zip codes in this column, as they can lead others to repeat the error.
Section E: Affidavit of Qualified Elector (i.e. circulator of this nomination paper)
This section should be filled out in the presence of a public notary after you have stopped gathering signatures
on the nomination paper and before it is turned in. Do not fill in the page number at the bottom of the sheet.
Contact the petitioning coordinator for where and when to get your form notarized, or bring it to your bank, tax
preparer, lawyer or elected reps office to get it notarized before turning it in to the petition coordinator.
Petitioning Made Easy
You will need nomination papers, a legal sized clipboard, ball point pins, registration forms, your
green party button, and candidate fliers.
“Hello, do you live in Pennsylvania? ... Would you sign our petition to put Green Party candidates on the
ballot for the November election? ... Please sign your name as you did when you registered to vote, then
print. ... Use your street address where you are registered. ... Also write your city. ... Today's date is ___. ...
Thank you. Be sure to vote for the Green Party in November.”
You will, of course, refine this script to fit your style and for what works with the people you are circulating among.
Be sure to give enough cues to get valid signatures (with printed name, address, city and date).
Be friendly and respectful of others regardless of whether they sign or not. Most of those you approach will not
sign or will be too busy to hear you. Just move on to the next person and focus on those who respond favorably.
Avoid long conversations, but if you find someone interested in learning more or getting involved, take down their
name, e-mail and phone number on the attached sheet. Be sure to offer a flier to anyone who signs or seems
interested.
Petitioning in short blocks of time, 20-40 minutes at a go, can be very effective. If you pick the right spot, that
amount of time can get you 6-12 signatures easily.
Here are six suggestions for petitioning in short time blocks:
1. Before you start your grocery shopping, spend 30 minutes in front of the store collecting signatures.
2. If you take public transportation to work, get to your stop early and approach the other commuters
waiting for the bus, trolley or train.
3. On your way home from work, stop in front of the post office, a local market or other business and work
in front for a little while.
4. Walk once around your block or apartment building in the evening, knocking on doors and getting your
neighbors’ signatures. If you don’t make your way around the first time, do it again another night, starting
in the opposite direction. Then start across the street.
5. Think of all the people you see at work or at home visiting with family and friends. Even if you only ask
people you come into contact with normally over the next few weeks, you’ll be surprised by how many
signatures you have.
All of this is stuff anyone can do! Please contact the petitioning coordinator with your questions, concerns or if
you need more petitions or fliers.
If you are asked to stop collecting signatures on a public sidewalk, park or event, please write down the time,
date, location and name of the official who told you to stop or leave. Then contact the petition coordinator with the
details.
Petition coordinator:
Hillary Kane, 267-971-3559
Green Party of Pennsylvania, P.O. Box 11962, Harrisburg, PA 17108 – 717-839-2395
Thanks to Joe Strzalka, Thomas Taylor and Eric Prindle for providing the basis for this document.