Civic Engagement: How Petitions Work

What is a petition?

• Petitions are official requests to a government agency or public official to do some action typically organized and signed by a group of individuals to express their support.
• Petitions can be used to recall political leaders, pass ballot initiatives, demonstrate public interest in a matter and mobilize supporters to take other actions, raise money for a cause, ask legislatures to pass or not pass certain laws, and many other means of political engagement. 
• The right to petition is one of the rights protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

How do they work?

• Different states and municipalities have different rules around petitions, such as how many signatures are needed for a petition to qualify an initiative or referendum for the ballot. Check out your state’s signature requirements here.
• Online petitions work differently than a petition for a ballot initiative. Online petitions work to raise awareness and put public pressure on the government to take certain actions. Websites like Change.org host petitions and can garner massive numbers of signatures quickly through rapid spread on social media. 
• The effectiveness of a petition can be measured by whether the stated explicit goal of the petition was achieved, but it can also be measured by how many people signed on. Even if the ultimate goal was not reached, raising awareness about an issue can lead to change later down the line.

Examples of real change

• Petitions were central tactics in many social movements throughout U.S. history. Abolitionist groups petitioned Congress to end slavery in the U.S. and the women’s suffrage movement utilized petitioning significantly. By 1878, Congress had received petitions for the right for women to vote from over 30,000 American women. Petitioning can be a powerful tool to enact change outside of voting.
• A petition to recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday succeeded in 2021, with President Joe Biden signing federal legislation. A petition to seek justice for Elijah McClain, a black man killed by Colorado police, helped increase public pressure and led to a historic $15 million settlement for the McClain family’s civil rights suit. A petition to halt the execution of Julius Jones, which gained support from prominent celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Kerry Washington, led to Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt commuting Jones’ sentence.

Start your own petition

• These are just a few examples of the ways petitions have raised support and demanded change. If you have a cause you care about, consider starting a petition or supporting an existing one to create change in your community.