Candidates need you to sign petitions

For Illinois residents, Sept. 6 — the first day political candidates begin circulating petitions — marked the start of the 2012 campaign season. Candidates will be knocking on your door to ask for signatures between now and Dec. 5, the last day to file petitions with local election authorities. The petition is the first step in democracy; a candidate cannot be placed on the ballot for the March 20 primary election if he or she does not have enough signatures.

Please sign the petition form when a candidate comes to your door. Signing:

Ÿ Allows you to participate in our government,

Ÿ Does not obligate you to vote for that candidate,

ŸWill not place your name on commercial mailing lists.

Most candidates stay within their own party when asking for signatures: if you are a Democrat, it is unlikely that a Republican candidate will ask for your signature, and vice versa. Only registered voters, within the district may sign a candidate petition. (If you are not registered, please do so as soon as you finish reading this!) The signature process is hard work, requiring candidates to go door-to-door in all kinds of weather hoping to find people home and willing to come to the door. Some candidacies require several thousand signatures.

So if you are home when a candidate knocks, please take a minute to answer the door and sign. Your signature on a petition is the easiest, fastest and cheapest thing you can do to participate in our government.

Jan Dorner

President

League of Women Voters of Illinois