Petition Drive 2008
Libertarians and friends at the national, state, and local levels are working together to get Libertarian candidates for U.S. President, Vice President, and Senate on Illinois ballots for the November election. Success requires us to collect and deliver approximately 42,000 petition signatures between March 25 and June 23.
How You Can Help
- Collect signatures. Download the petition form and the Five Steps to Petitioning Success Instructions to get started. Every signature takes us one step closer to achieving our goal and is greatly appreciated. Get ideas on great places to petition throughout Illinois by downloading our list of Petitioning Events.
- Donate to the drive. Every dollar helps us pay petitioners to collect additional signatures. Send checks to: Libertarian Party of Illinois, P.O. Box 1605, Chicago, IL 60690-1605. You can also donate online. (To ensure your money is used for ballot access, just note it in the comment box on the last page.) If you pledged to donate, now's the time to send it in.
- Join the Vote Libertarian Illinois committee or simply let us know you wish to help. We need people who can write fundraising letters, stuff envelopes, mentor others in how to successfully petition, notarize documents, and more. Email the VLI Chair to volunteer.
- Become a Petition Coordinator. We need people in every Illinois area to collect petitions, see that they are notarized, and forward them to Springfield. Email the VLI Chair to volunteer.
- Help Spread the Word. Post our need for petitioners, donors, and other volunteers on applicable online boards and blogs. Thanks!
Signature Status
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Fundraising Status
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Petition Drive Match Pledges
Julie Fox has pledged to collect 500 signatures, but will collect another 500 if someone will match her 1000 signature pledge. We are way behind in signature collection, so a match to this challenge would give the petition drive a huge boost. Accept the challenge by calling 800-735-1776 or emailing the VLI Chair.
Donations to the drive are currently being matched by the Libertarian Party National Committee. Every $1 is being matched by $1.50, so your donation of $500 generates $1,250 for the drive, $250, generates $625, and $100 brings us $250. Get your donation in before the match runs out. Send checks to: Libertarian Party of Illinois, P.O. Box 1605, Chicago, IL 60690-1605. You can also donate safely and easily online. Don't miss out on this opportunity to more than double your investment in liberty. Make your contribution today!
Prize Contest
Contractors are expensive, but necessary, to collect the large number of signatures we need in the short amount of time we have available.
However, we can minimize the number of contractor signatures needed by maximizing the number of signatures volunteers collect. Remember: every volunteer signature frees up cash that donors could contribute to Libertarian campaigns.
So, the Vote Libertarian Illinois committee is offering a contest to help inspire volunteers to collect more signatures. The top volunteer circulators will receive:
- 1st Prize: Half-Ounce Gold Eagle Coin
- 2nd Prize: Quarter-Ounce Gold Eagle Coin
- 3rd Prize: Gold Package to the 2008 LP Illinois Convention
- 4th Prize: $50 LP Stuff Certificate
- 5th Prize: 1-Year Subscription to Reason Magazine
Of course, the prize we can all share is to stand in the voting booth on November 4th and vote Libertarian, knowing that we did our part to make it happen. If you haven't done it yet, please download the petition form and get your first signature right now or donate to the drive.
But for those of you who get fired up by a little friendly competition,
Go for the Gold!
Petition Drive Bonus
Getting our candidates on the ballot in November is a great service for the voters of Illinois. But we can also factor in the longer-term opportunity this election presents to us. Election laws make it difficult for "new" parties like us to get on the ballot and reach voters. Perfect example: we have to collect 5 times the number of petition signatures that "established" parties do to get on the ballot. It's grossly unfair, but that's the law as written by the Demoblicans for the Republicrats.
However, if any of our national candidates wins 5% or more of the vote, that would make the LP Illinois an "established" party for the next election, the Governor's race in 2010. If we only need to put 1/5 of the effort into getting on the ballot, that provides a huge boost in volunteers and dollars that can be spent on the campaign getting votes. More votes means more libertarian influence. More influence means movement of public policy in a libertarian direction. That's what this opportunity is really all about.
Can we get 5% of the vote? Ron Paul just received 5% of the vote in the Primary. Our Party grew by 16% last year. Libertarians and libertarian- leaning voters are out there. We need your support to reach them. By collecting signatures, donating dollars or your time to the petition drive you can take part in making it happen.
More Information
Stay on top of the latest about the petition drive by subscribing to the LP Illinois News Yahoo Group. The News is published twice per month directly to your inbox.
Send questions and suggestions to Crystal Jurczynski, VLI Committee Chair, by email VLI@LPIllinois.org or phone 630-876-1935.
