Circulators should be required to register with the Secretary of State
Because of the nature of the paid signature gathering industry, we will always be dealing with mercenary, or traveling petitioners. There has been some talk of requiring in-state voter registration or residency for petitioning, but that is a more controversial change and one that would likely involve extensive and expensive court challenges. While some states stipulate that only state residents may petition (Oklahoma) others would argue that nothing would qualify without out-of-state signature gatherers.
Short of outlawing out-of-state petitioners, the next best alternative is to know who they are. By requiring all signature gatherers to register with the Secretary of State, we will be able to do multi-state research on petitioners. In addition to providing a full name and permanent address, there are other pieces of information that would assist in our research.
- Date of Birth (in some states, date of birth is necessary to run criminal records checks)
- Social Security Number or EIN
- Current address in state, as well as permanent address
- Disclosure of any arrests or convictions for sexual assaults or identity theft. These crimes are particularly sensitive to an unsuspecting public. It would be a service to voters to know that they are not providing that personal information to dangerous criminals or identity thieves.
