How to Write and Distribute Petitions
For Offline Petitions
- Make it look official. Use your letterhead or logo and identify your organization as the sponsor. Include the address, phone number, and email address.
- In one or two paragraphs state the purpose of the petition: why you support or oppose an issue. If your petition is in response to a proposed ordinance or bill, state the name and number of the proposal and a brief summary of its provisions. Be clear.
- State your reasons. Describe briefly the arguments for your position by including a few facts.
- Design a petition with enough space for each person to print and sign his or her name and address.
- Fill in the first line with a name -- your own! It provides a format for signers to follow and gets the ball rolling by making people feel comfortable about putting their name down with others.
- Set a date for completion.
Source: Adapted from The 26% Solution by Wendy Shaetzel Lesko. Activism 2000 Project, and Emanuel Tsourounis, II
- Online petitions are easy to use and have a lot of features to make collecting signatures easier. Like traditional petitions, online petitions help people become more actively involved in a cause. One word of caution -- remember to put a deadline on your online petition and keep people informed of the progress of the petition. Once the deadline has passed, take the petition off the list or website where you posted it. Help with how to wrap-up an online petition drive is available at NetAction.
