# Do online petitions matter? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 13, 2025, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-online-petitions-matter/1019599 "2025-06-13T20:06:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-online-petitions-matter/1019599/1 "2025-06-13T20:06:01Z")
My Facebook feed has frequent posts saying “Sign this petition for \< _reason_ \> and incidentally, by signing, you agree to get emails from us.” They’re for causes or candidates. Do electronic petitions have any value? Does anyone pay attention to them? Or are they just a means of collecting names and emails? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-online-petitions-matter/1019599/2 "2025-06-13T20:13:33Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Do electronic petitions have any value? Does anyone pay attention to them? For Politics? Probably not unless it is hyper local. For a product, or marketing- it is much more likely.. > [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Or are they just a means of collecting names and emails? This is my guess. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-online-petitions-matter/1019599/3 "2025-06-13T20:32:01Z")
I can’t see why anybody would pay attention to an online petition. Are the names and e-mail addresses people who agreed to sign? Are they just copied and pasted from another list? Are they even e-mail addresses used by human beings? If presented with an online petition, why shoud anybody assume anything about is genuine? ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-online-petitions-matter/1019599/4 "2025-06-13T22:03:30Z")
I made the mistake of “signing” one once and it took me to a page where the organization was asking for money - either for a candidate or a cause. The “petition” apparently was the come-on. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-online-petitions-matter/1019599/5 "2025-06-13T23:17:07Z")
Online petitions organized by private parties are worthless and a waste of time. (Well, they’re not worthless for the organization. That’s why they do them. But they’re worthless for you.) However, a counter example: In my country of residence, the right to petition the legislature is explicitly encoded in the Constitution. In fact, the state provides an official site where anyone can start a petition and solicit support. And if the petition reaches a certain threshold of public backing, this triggers a legally required debate in our parliament. More info: > **[Exercising the right to petition the Chamber of Deputies](https://guichet.public.lu/en/citoyens/citoyennete/democratie-participative/petitions-initiatives-citoyennes/petition-chambre-deputes.html)** > > You can send and/or sign petitions to the Parliament, either online or on paper. Petitions must be of national scope and of general interest.Who is concerned: anyone aged 15 or over and registered in the National Registry of Natural Persons... So in general, no, online petitions don’t matter. But here in Luxembourg, they _can._ ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Maven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_maven/32/3272_2.png) [@Steven\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Maven)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2025, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-online-petitions-matter/1019599/6 "2025-06-14T19:10:54Z")
Online petitions aren’t worth the paper they aren’t printed on.