Directions for Signers

• You must be a registered voter in the district. Your voting history in previous elections does not matter.
• You may sign petitions for as many candidates of the same political party as you wish each election. You may not sign petitions for candidate of more than one political party in the same election.
• Take your time! You signature needs to match your official signature on file with the Clerk’s Office for it to count.
• Use your official signature regardless of any variations on how you print your name.
• Do not use ditto marks for any part of an address or county.
• You must use the address where you are registered to vote. PO Boxes are not acceptable.
• You cannot sign anyone else’s name, including a family member’s.

Directions for Circulators

• You must be 18 years of age or older (or 17 years of age and qualified to vote in Illinois) and a US Citizen.
• You need not have voted in a previous election. Your voting history in previous elections does not matter. You do not need to be a registered voter to circulate petitions.
• You may not circulate petitions for more than one political party in the same election. You also may not circulate petitions for independent/non-partisan candidates and established party candidates in the same election.
• You must personally witness all signatures made on this petition.
• You may sign your own petition if you are a registered voter in the district.
• You may pass this petition anywhere, though signatures must be from registered voters who reside within the district.
• Petitions with fewer names than a full page do count. If you are not able to fill a petition sheet, still send it in to the campaign. Each signature counts.
• If you learn a signature is not valid, do not cross it out. Bad signatures do not knock out other good signatures or invalidate a petition. However, known bad signatures should be brought to the attention of the campaign so that they can be officially struck.
• You must sign as the circulator of the petition before a Notary Public licensed in Illinois and the Notary Public must affix his/her seal or stamp. Most banks and libraries will notarize free of charge.
• Do not number the petition page.
• Circulate carefully and intentionally. A circulator who routinely disregards the signature gathering rules may have an entire sheet stricken even if some signatures are valid.