How many signatures do I need for a petition to be effective?

Answer by  caporfirio (804)

It really matters on what you would like to do and how many people live in your area. In county government you should have roughly half of the support of registered voters of that county to make your petition really stand out.

Answer by  tamarawilhite (17883)

If the petition is to recall someone from office or a voter initiative, the number of required signatures is determined by law. If you are seeking a petition to show a government official to change their views, the minimum is in the thousands. But you can have a similar impact with many people (dozens to hundreds) at county meetings.

Answer by  Gabriel (2146)

Depends on the jurisdiction. Each county sets the number of valid signatures required, usually it is set as a percentage of registered voters.

Answer by  palaeologus (564)

There are well over 3,000 counties in the United States. There is no nationally set number of signatures that these counties must or may accept as mandating or warranting a change in government. State and local law simply must be consulted.

Answer by  tamarawilhite (17883)

For a local office, the issue is not how many signatures you have but the percentage of the local population. Any petition with more than 10% of the local population will grab their attention. If they are verified voters, it has great impact. Many signatures from people around the world will not influence a county government at all.