Help Gather Signatures

We only need to collect about 14,000 signatures per congressional district.  In some districts, that is only 1,000 signatures per county!

Looked at another way, we need only about 100 churches collecting 150 signatures in each Congressional district.  Alternatively, we need only 50 churches collecting 300 signatures each.

Can you organize a group to collect 500 to 1000 signatures? 

If so, we only need 20 more people just like you in six out of nine Missouri  congressional districts.   Here's a map of congressional districts and the number of signatures needed.

We encourage you to undertake this project with a small group of people within your church, club, or other community group.  Many hands make light work...but we need you to coordinate and motivate your family, friends, and church community.

It is most efficient to collect signatures after a church service. If you plan ahead, your group of volunteers can work at several different churches on consecutive Sundays.

You may also work as a group to canvass a neighborhood walking door to door. You may also collect signatures outside any public building, such a library,

Gathering signatures is easy, and the paper work is minimal.

There are just six major steps:

I.   Register with Us & Download These Instructions

1. The first thing to do is to simply go to sign up for our email list / volunteer database. Be sure to indicate your county. Using the county information, we can then subsequently notify you when and how to turn in the petitions you have collected. The District Coordinator is the one to whom you will deliver your signed petitions. No need to wait, you can start collecting signatures right away.
2. Download a printable version of these instructions and forms.

II.   Prepare the Petition Forms

1. Download the actual petition form here. 
2. It must be printed out on legal sized paper 8.5 x 14 inches.
3. Before making copies, print the NAME OF YOUR COUNTY in the five blank places where your county name must be provided. They are indicated with an X and in yellow on the sample sheet below.
4. Make copies on legal sized paper, 8.5 x 14 inches. It must be printed on both sides. The signature page on one side and the complete initiative language on the reverse side.
5. Distribute copies to circulators on your team with the additional instructions below which must be followed by EACH petition circulator.
6. Do NOT number the pages. Numbering should only be done by County Coordinators.

III.  All Volunteers Collecting Signatures Must Complete the Petition Circulator's Registration Form

1. Circulators are acting as legal witnesses of the fact that they were present when the signers signed the petition. Circulators must be at least 18 years old.
2. Each Circulator must complete and return the "Circulator's Registration Form." Download it here.  It is also included in the Instructions download.
    
• This form only needs to be completed once for each circulator.
• It can be completed the day you are collecting signatures. This makes it easy to include last minute volunteers as Circulators, especially if a notary is on hand.
• The circulator registration form should be turned in with the petitions to your local or county coordinator. Typically, it should be included as the top sheet along with any petition sheets collected.
• The circulator registration form is attached to this document and can be found at our web site.
3. The name of the Circulator (witness) must be CLEARLY PRINTED on each petition sheet to be witnessed in the space provided immediately above the signature lines, where is says "I, ________ being first duly sworn." (See the grey highlighted area in the sample above.)  If the name is not legible, the Secretary of State may throw out the entire sheet.
4. If you are going to work with other circulators at the back of your church  distribute blank petition sheets to each circulator and instruct each circulator to print his or her name in the designated space each time a new sheet is started.
5. Do NOT number the pages. Numbering should only be done by County Coordinators.

IV.   Gather Signatures

1. People signing must be residents of the county indicated on the form. 
2. If you live near a county border, you should have separate petitions for each county and direct signers to the right form. 
3. A Circulator may witness petition forms for multiple counties.

V.    Circulators Must Sign as Witnesses All Completed Petitions --
In Presence of a Notary

1. After the signatures have been collected, in the presence of a notary public, each Circulator must sign and provide his or her address in the space provided at the bottom of each signature page he or she witnessed.  The notary will also complete the bottom section.  This section is highlighted in green in the above example.
2. If at all possible, have a notary at your church.  It is a great idea to put a notice in your church bulletin asking for a member of you church who is a notary to be there the day you collect signatures. Then you can complete and have notarized all forms signed that day.
3. If you do not have a notary at the church, notary services are generally available without charge at most banks. In this case, each Circulator must have his or her signature notarized individually and then must return the notarized petition forms to the church, county, or district coordinator.

VI.    Deliver Completed Petitions and Circulator Forms to Local, County, or District Coordinator

1. All coordinators should keep all Circulator Registration Forms in a separate folder.
2. ONLY the County Coordinator or District Coordinator should number the pages in the space provided in the upper right corner.
3. Pages should be kept in numbered order with no more than 100 sheets per folder.
4. Local and County Coordinators will deliver the signed petitions to the Congressional District Coordinator or State Coordinator on dates to be specified.