How To Circulate a Petition

** This is an official paper petition that will get this issue onto the ballot and requires your handwritten signature to be valid (not online).

WATCH THIS!

You Can Do This! Video: How To Circulate a Petition

By Jeremy Goodall

Thank you for circulating the Official Legal Paper Petition to gather signatures to get this very important issue onto the Colorado ballot!

Signing the petition means that the signer agrees the issue should come for a vote by the people, regardless how they will vote on the issue once it is on the ballot.

Places to find people to sign: school events, church, concerts, group meetings, Bible Studies, gun shows, craft fairs, gatherings of family, friends, door-to-door asking neighbors, and public sidewalks outside grocery stores and businesses. Most people know forty people, so start with people you know.

How To Ask:

“Hello, are you a Colorado registered voter? Would you help put an important issue in front of Colorado voters?"

You may add, while handing the petition to them:

“Your signature does not say that you support or oppose the measure, it merely puts the issue in front of Colorado voters to let the people decide, not the politicians.”

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY HOW TO CIRCULATE THE OFFICIAL PAPER PETITION:

Qualifications to Circulate a petition: 18 years old and a US Citizen

Note: Circulator does NOT need to be a registered voter in Colorado to circulate a petition but MUST have a valid photo ID, such as a driver's license.

Required:

Circulator Badge that reads: VOLUNTEER CIRCULATOR
Petition Packet (Optional: clip board 8 ½ x 14 or heavy cardboard w/rubber band)
Black or blue ink pens: 2-4 pens per petition packet. (attached flag or flower helps) Recommend: Pilot, G2 Premium Gel Roller Pens, Fine Point 0.7 mm, Black, Here are where you may purchase them: pens we recommend

Suggested:

QR code for people to register to vote or check their registration.
Copy of amendment someone can read while someone else is signing.
Optional: comfortable shoes, jacket, water bottle, sunscreen, hat, fetal model.

BEFORE YOU CIRCULATE THE OFFICIAL PAPER PETITION:

Make sure the petition matches this amendment and that all staples are intact.
Display badge “VOLUNTEER CIRCULATOR” in bold-face type clearly visible
Each petition packet may have only one circulator. But a Circulator may carry more than one petition.
Circulator must witness each signature (cannot leave on a table or just somewhere in the room or vicinity).
Make sure boxes are filled completely and correctly.
Once all signatures are collected, Notarize the packet before returning.

TO SIGN A PETITION:

Must be a registered voter in the state of Colorado at the time of signing. (may register online.)

HOW TO SIGN A PETITION:

Use black or blue ink pen only.
Print clearly to be legible and stay within the lines
Print residential address as it appears on voter registration.
Include any apartment number.
Spell out the county, if possible.
Date may be numbers. (Example: 3-31-2024 or 3/31/2023)
Complete each box
Do not write outside the box.
Sign your name as you usually sign your ballot.
Sign a petition that someone else is circulating.

Those signing should print the address as they are registered to vote in Colorado and sign how they typically sign their ballot.

If the signer makes a mistake, the signer may draw one line through the mistake and write within the box and initial within the box. If the mistake is multiple boxes or there is no room for corrections, the signer may draw one line through the entire entry and use a different set of boxes. Do NOT use white out.

For Signers with disabilities: The Signer with disabilities places X on the signature line, then in (parentheses) next to it, the Assistant writes their name, and the Assistant fills in all other boxes for the Signer at the TOP area of each box, and then within the SAME box - below the Signer information - the Assistant provides all their information, as well. The Assistant has to be someone other than the Circulator.

Do NOT:

Remove staples (this will invalidate the entire section)
Sign for another person (this is illegal)
Use ditto (“) marks
Provide a po box
Have someone sign after the section packet has been notarized
Do not knowingly sign more than once. If you've forgotten if you've signed, you may sign. Only one signature will count.
It is against the law to bribe someone to sign.
It is against the law to remove staples, tear, or deface the petition in any way.
Do not try to remove any coffee or food stains, just return as-is.

For the Signature to be valid:

Stay within the square.
Print as clearly as possible to be legible.
Date accurately
Match voter registration address
Sign as you normally sign your ballot

For the Packet of signatures to be valid:

Circulator with valid ID (such as a driver's license) signs the affidavit (last page of the packet) in front of a Notary.
The Notary must have an active commission on file as a Notary.
The date must match between the Notary and the Circulator when notarized. Spell out the date. (Example: March 31, 2024)
The staples must be in place (if removed, the entire packet is invalid)
Affidavit page must be attached by the original staples within the packet and cannot be separate from the packet (or the entire packet will be invalidated.)

No one may circulate a petition section other than the Circulator who Notarizes the circulator affidavit attached to the petition section (back page).

If the Circulator or Notary makes a mistake, draw one line through the mistake, correct, and initial.

Someone may withdraw their signature by filing a written request to the Secretary of State’s office on or before the signatures are filed with the Secretary of State.

By law, every petition must be returned to the Co-Proponents notarized - however full - before the deadline.

Training is available for Volunteer Circulators on the Secretary of State’s website.

Fill out petitions assigned to you as quickly as possible. Try to fill a packet of 40 petitions every week, notarize, and return every weekend and get more so we can watch the numbers in real-time!

To provide an accurate count, please fill all petitions completely with 40 separate signatures. (Even one missing signature, when you multiply by thousands of petition packets, adds up! Every signature is important!)

Make sure to notarize your packet. Some of our Return Events will have a Notary available, or you may ask for a Notary through your church or where you bank.

Once you've signed your packet (last page) in front of a Notary, return your packet section, however full, to the one who gave it to you, or at the designated place and time given to you. Because we've had problems with petitions getting shredded and lost in the mail, please do NOT mail your packet.

There will be a church in your area where you will be able to return petitions every week and get new ones. If you have difficulty returning your petition or getting a new one, please contact the Co-Proponents at Colorado Life Initiative through the website: gotaheart.org.

If you have a question, contact your local Regional Team, or reach out through the contact page of the website: gotaheart.org.

Please be courteous of others and respectful of the church or organization that has invited you.

Be prepared for rejection! While people do not have to agree with the topic to get it onto the ballot and ONLY NEED TO AGREE IT'S AN IMPORTANT ISSUE FOR THE VOTERS TO DECIDE, it may surprise you the people who oppose making it illegal to painfully mutilate and kill children. They may have all sorts of excuses, but rather than argue with them while collecting signatures, schedule a time to sit down to coffee or in a church building to discuss their concerns. If you don't know the answers, reach out to a Task Force member or contact one of the Co-Proponents through the Contact Page of gotaheart.org. One of the Co-Proponents is an evangelical Christian and the other is a Catholic who teaches the Catholic catechism.

IMPORTANT: Finalizing Petitions

Please turn in petition packets exactly as they are handed to you (don't try to correct or cross out anything). Do not remove staples or put new staples into the packet. And do not try to remove any stains.

Circulators sign the last page in front of a Notary and return your petition (however full) to a location or event nearest you.

But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds quarreling. And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing. He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, who has taken them captive to his will. (2 Timothy 2:23-26)

Helpful:

1) SAMPLE SCRIPT

3) Petition Sign-Out Sheet

(for contact info of those wanting to circulate a petition)

4) Written Instructions How To Circulate a Petition

5) Fact Sheet