# Petition Signature

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petition-signature/568425>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 21, 2011, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petition-signature/568425 "2011-01-21T05:53:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Spamicide](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@Spamicide](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spamicide)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2011, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petition-signature/568425/1 "2011-01-21T05:53:36Z")

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is it legal in the United States to pay people for their signatures on a petition.  
Just asking because I have noticed that a number of poker sites are offering people a entry into a poker tournament in return for signing a petition to be giving to the president.

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**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petition-signature/568425/2 "2011-01-22T01:59:25Z")

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A petition such as this has no legal weight, they can pay or give away all they want. If this was a petition that would be submitted to put something on a ballot, such as the inititive process used in my state and many others, any inticement to sign such a petition would highly frowned upon. The folks that collect such signatures in my state can be paid to collect the signatures, they cannot however be paid per signature collected.

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**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2011, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petition-signature/568425/3 "2011-01-22T04:33:48Z")

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I’m curious as to what petition poker sites would want people to sign?

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**Author:** ![Spamicide](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@Spamicide](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spamicide)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2011, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petition-signature/568425/4 "2011-01-23T08:37:27Z")

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> [@Foggy](#):
>
> I’m curious as to what petition poker sites would want people to sign?

To keep online poker sites legal. There have been attempts to ban them.

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**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petition-signature/568425/5 "2011-01-24T01:33:21Z")

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> [@racer72](#):
>
> The folks that collect such signatures in my state can be paid to collect the signatures, they cannot however be paid per signature collected.

Depends on state law.

That was the problem with the ACORN voter registration drives – their compensation arrangement was such that people hired to get signatures could cheat by filling out the forms with made-up names, and then turn them in to get higher pay.