To request a petition to sign or circulate, please email dyoungedyke@citizenswildlife.com.
There are a few rules and guidelines that should be remembered when signing and circulating petitions:
- Circulators must be eligible to be registered Michigan voters. They must be at least 18 years old, have lived in Michigan for at least 30 days, and be United States Citizens.
- Petition signers must actually be registered Michigan voters.
- Signers must list the address where they are registered to vote.
- Signers may only sign ONE petition.
- Signers must fill out all boxes, including the date they are signing.
- Each petition is valid for one county only. If you’re collecting signatures from registered voters from more than one county, be sure to use a separate petition sheet for each county.
- Make sure that signers use a blue or black ballpoint pen and write legibly.
- If a signer makes a mistake, have them cross a single line through it and write on the next line down. Do not use white-out.
- Circulators must be present when petitions are signed.
- Circulators must sign and date the bottom of each petition. Be sure to sign and date the petition on or after the last date on which signatures were collected. Once the circulator signs a petition sheet, no more signatures may be collected on that sheet. Start a new sheet for new signatures.
- DO NOT REMOVE the folded portion containing the language of the citizen initiative.
- Do not mark outside of the provided boxes or make any extraneous markings.
- Do not make copies of the petitions. They’re legal documents with very specific paper and print requirements. If you need more petitions, send in your signed petitions and we’ll send you more, or email us.
You’ll work hard to rally fellow hunters, anglers, trappers, conservationists, co-workers, family and friends to sign the petition. By following the rules above, you’ll make sure that the signatures you’ve worked hard to collect are counted.
Additionally, here are a few tips for collecting signatures:
- Smile. Use an opening line to capture the attention of potential signers. A suggested opening line is “Would you like to sign a petition to protect hunting rights and stop Asian carp?”
- If someone needs more information, provide it, but don’t engage with someone who is argumentative. They’ll take up time that you could be spending with people who support hunting and fishing rights.
- Above all, be truthful about the citizen initiative. Please refer to the fact sheet or FAQ’s to be sure that you’re accurately explaining the initiative. The actual language of the initiative is written in bold on the back and fold out portions of the petition.
It’s important that we know how we’re doing with the signature collection effort, so please mail your petitions back as soon as they’re filled, or weekly, even if they’re not full. It’s okay to have only a few signatures on each sheet. When you send them back, we’ll send you more in return.
Send petitions to:
Citizens for Professional Wildlife Management
P.O. Box 11082
Lansing, MI 48901
