| Libertarian Party of NY -- Press Release -- Suggestions for LP petitioners |
1. Be friendly, non-argumentative, non-confrontational. We have two objectives, neither of which is to convert anyone to libertarianism on the spot. Our objectives are a) to get their signature to help us get on the ballot, and b)--only if they're interested--to add their name to our mailing list for more information. If you are talking to shoppers exiting a store, it is critically important not to get into any kind of heated debate or discussion--if they want to argue, give 'em my phone number (insert candidate's number), and I'll handle their questions. We must not do anything to jeopardize our access to the stores, where the stream-of-people situation allows us to get many more signatures per hour than any other situation--hence, please don't argue!
2. If you’re petitioning at a store, always check in with the store manager, to let him/her know you're there; the schedule will have been pre-arranged, and the store manager should have been notified. I say “should” advisedly, because there have been occasions when notification got messed up in the pipeline, in which case the manager generally will let you work if you appear respectable and responsible.
3. Talk to people only as they leave the store; position yourself so you have access to them as they pass, but so they can easily get by you if they choose; when possible, approach your opposite gender: male petitioners approach women and vice-versa.
4. Keep your pitch short, and if at any time during the pitch you determine they won't sign, cut it short, wish them a good day, and move on to the next prospect. I find the following pitch to be effective; you may want to adapt it for your own use. Hi! Are you a registered voter in Monroe County (if yes, proceed, else say “Thanks anyway!”) I'm helping Steve Healey, who lives in Rochester (point to the candidate if he's petitioning with you) and is an independent candidate for Congress. It takes several thousand signatures just to get Steve on the ballot, and we're asking folks if they'll give him a hand by signing his petition. This doesn't say you're going to vote for him--although that'd be great, too--it says only that you want him on the ballot. Would you sign, to give Steve a chance to run ? (at this point, smile and hand them the pen. They may have questions or reservations, the most likely of which are: 'is this guy Republican or Democrat--he's not a LaRouchie, is he?' No, Steve is running as a Libertarian, to give people an alternative to the incumbent, Louise Slaughter (try both ways, mentioning or omitting the incumbent’s name, to see which way gets better results). Please understand that this petition does not commit you to vote for or support Steve--it's required only to give him a chance to get on the ballot. Another comment we sometimes get is: 'Libertarians, hm--ain't they communists?' Gosh, no--communists always want more government control over your lives, and libertarians always call for less!
After you get the signature (ask them to enter only their signature; you fill in their address before they leave; it's legal for us to fill in everything else later, and saves a lot of precious petitioning time!), give them one of the campaign flyers, telling them our number is on it if they have further questions or comments. By the way, in order for a person to be qualified to sign, they must be registered to vote in the district in which we're running, and must not have signed another petition for the same office earlier. If they signed for, say, the Assembly, their signature would still be okay for our Congressional candidate; similarly, if they live outside the Congressional district, they could still sign for our Senate & Presidential candidates, if they vote in New York State. If it's not clear, ask them to sign anyway--the worst that happens is that we catch it during processing and simply delete their signatures. Healey’s area, the 28th Congressional District, is all of Brighton, East Rochester, Greece, Irondequoit, Penfield, Perinton, Pittsford, Webster, virtually all of Henrietta, and much of Rochester.
5. The difference between getting 20 signatures an hour and 50 signatures an hour is due mostly to technique. Friendliness (approachability, not over-familiarity), persistence (not aggressiveness), and learning when to "close" are items which I've found make a difference in my results; you may find the same.
6. As you fill petition sheets, initial them (in pencil only!!!) in the extreme lower right hand corner (this is so we can identify them during processing, later) and get the petitions to XXXXXXX, who is organizing the processing necessary to prepare the petition sheets for filing with the Monroe County Board of Elections. XXXXXX’s phone numbers are: XXXXXXXXXXX. Keep the partially-filled one (on which you got your most recent signature) as “seed,” because people are more likely to sign when they see that others already have.
7. Very rarely you’ll have someone who changes his mind after signing. If such a signee asks to scratch out his/her signature, you put a single line through all the info on that line. That accomplishes the task of removing the signature, without hiding anything from the Board of Elections, and especially without letting an angry recalcitrant destroy adjacent signatures—or the whole page—in a fit of pique.
8. Perhaps the most difficult part about petitioning is keeping a positive, cheerful attitude after your request for a signature has been rejected several times in a row. There are two ways I deal with this. The first is to remind myself why I'm there: I'm there to secure liberty for myself and those I love, not for the guy who's turned me down. Even if it's true that those who refuse to do anything to preserve liberty don't deserve to be free, nonetheless if the rest of us are to be free, it requires that they be, as well. Since I know that I deserve to be free, that's why I'm standing there (when I'd rather be bicycling!). The second way I deal with this rejection is to simply take a long deep breath, step back a couple of paces, smile as a few people go by without my approaching them, and then begin again. Those of you who are smokers might want to move away and light up (but please don't smoke while you're actually petitioning--that turns off more people than it turns on).
9. When your shift ends, police the area for any flyers which may have been discarded; we want to maintain good relations with the store management!
10. If you've questions, or have unearthed a new red-hot libertarian who wants to be on our mailing list and help our campaign, please don't hesitate to call Steve Healey (home: XXX-XXXX ) or Dave Hoesly (home: XXX-XXXX).
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