There are distinct rules that must be followed for the circulation of petitions.  Deviating from these rules can result in some of the signatures being thrown out or even whole part-petitions being thrown out.  Before you begin to circulate your petition, get familiar with the following rules.

1. Only registered voters that are registered to vote within the jurisdiction of the office being sought may sign the petition.  Those living out of the jurisdiction or those who are not registered to vote will not be counted toward a candidate’s signature requirement.
   

2. Signatures must be written in ink and must be legible.  If necessary, the circulator may print the signer’s name above their signature if the circulator fears that the signature may not be legible.  Any signature written in anything other than ink or illegible to the Board will not count toward the signature requirement.
   

3. Signers must include their voting address next to their signature.  Post office boxes are NOT acceptable and will disqualify a signature. 
   

4. Signers must sign for themselves.  No one may authorize someone else to sign for them.  Even power-of-attorney does NOT permit a person to sign a petition for someone else.
   

5. There can be only one circulator per part-petition and that circulator must witness each signature personally.
   

6. The circulator of a part-petition may NOT sign their own part-petition and a candidate may NOT sign his own petition.
   

7. Each part-petition may only contain the signatures of voters from one county.  If a candidate wishes to get signatures from more than one county, he must have a part-petition designated for each county.  Part-petitions with signatures from more than one county will not be thrown out.  However, only the signatures of the county with the majority of signers will be counted toward the signature requirement.
   

8. If a circulator knowingly permits an unqualified person to sign a petition or allows a person to sign someone else’s name, the entire part-petition will be thrown out.
   

9. After completing a part-petition, the circulator of that part-petition MUST complete the Circulator Statement on the back of the part-petition.  Failing to sign or indicate the number of signatures collected will disqualify the entire part-petition. 
   

10. No alterations, corrections or additions may be made to a petition after it is filed with the Board of Elections. All petition papers must be filed at once.  If, after examining the petition, the Board determines that the candidate has provided an insufficient number of signatures, the candidate will not appear on the ballot.

It is extremely important that you follow these rules.  Failing to do so can prevent you from getting your name placed on the ballot.  Start your candidacy off right and follow these procedures closely.

Continue on to BASICS OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE