A nominating petition is required in some

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

s, particularly in the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

, in order for an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

or non- major-party candidate to gain ballot access. A certain number of valid signatures is typically prescribed by statute in order for the candidate to get on the ballot. Thus, it is necessary to get an overage of "raw" signatures (perhaps twice as many as the statutory requirement) in order to assure getting on the ballot, as some signatures may be illegible, incomplete, of individuals not registered to vote, or not in the candidate's

electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

, or otherwise invalid. Paid petitioners sometimes assist in gathering signatures. The form of a nominating petition is typically prescribed by the electoral authority (e.g. a board of election) and the wording may state, for instance, "We, the qualified voters of the district in which the above candidate seeks nomination or election and of __________ signed hereunder or on the reverse side of this page, do hereby petition the above named individual to become a candidate for the office stated above in the General Election to be held on the _____ day of _____, 20__, and we do further petition that his/her name be printed upon the official ballots to be used at the election."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nominating Petition Elections Direct democracy