MoveOn Petitions’ Candidates Program
How Can MoveOn Petitions Help You Win?
- Build support for your issues and legislation.Starting a petition allows you to campaign on the most pressing issue of the day, from fighting gun violence in your community to taking action on climate change. When talking to the media or your fellow representatives, you can show that the grassroots is behind you by highlighting the raw number of signers on your petition and/or some of the personal stories that your signers leave as comments.
- Gain visibility with MoveOn members. MoveOn members are voters, committed grassroots activists, and donors. We promote the most compelling petitions to targeted segments of our list via email and social media, helping to boost your name recognition with members—which can help your chance of an official MoveOn endorsement vote.
- Get expedited testing of your petitions. We’re committed to bringing the best progressive leaders’ voices and campaigns around the country directly to MoveOn members. That’s why when you start a petition, we’ll test it out to at least 1,000 MoveOn members as soon as possible (assuming no compliance issues or other conflicts), instead of waiting for it to reach our standard threshold of 10 signatures. This helps you quickly build support for issues while they’re in the news.
- Grow your base of supporters. It’s easy to share your MoveOn petitions with your current supporters by email or social media, so they can share with their friends and expand your circle of support. You can then email all of your signers via MoveOn’s petition tool and ask them to take action on your website to help grow your own supporter base.
- Easily communicate with voters. MoveOn’s petition tool makes it easy to communicate directly with people in your district. For petitions you create, you can target mailings to signers by state and federal district, as well as other geographic criteria. If you’re an elected official, you can also respond to constituents who sign petitions started by fellow MoveOn members. This makes it easy to show where you stand on issues and makes your constituents feel heard.
How Do I Join?
- Click here to start and share your first petition.
- Once your petition has been created, click here to fill out this quick application with your petition URL and your information.
- And that’s it! Start sharing your petition with others on social media, and we’ll start testing your petitions to the relevant MoveOn members (assuming you meet all eligibility requirements and there are no compliance issues).
How Others Are Using MoveOn Petitions
Dozens of candidates and elected officials have used petitions to organize supporters for their causes and campaigns. Here are just a few examples of successful petitions from candidates and elected officials.
- Support the Marijuana Justice Act by U.S. Senator Cory Booker.
- Answers about Andrew McCabe’s firing by U.S. Senator Kamala Harris.
- Tell Trump to release his taxes by Daniel Biss, IL state representative and former candidate for governor.
- Stand with Planned Parenthood by Diane Russell, former ME state representative and candidate for governor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible for the MoveOn Petitions’ Candidates Program?
All federal progressive candidates and elected officials are eligible to join. This includes all candidates in races where we haven’t officially endorsed.
Because of compliance laws, we’re able to test petitions only from state and local candidates or elected officials in select states. Regardless of where you’re running or what area you represent, you’re still welcome to start a petition and organize supporters. Unfortunately, we may not able to test or elevate your petition to MoveOn members.
What will make my petition strong or test well with MoveOn members?
We’ve found that the best way to find a strong petition is to test as many as possible, because it’s sometimes hard to predict what will perform well with members. That’s why it’s a good rule of thumb to put as many active, relevant petitions into MoveOn’s petition tool as you can.
We’ve generally found that the petitions that do the best are:
- Timely—on an issue currently in the news or have another hook, such as a looming deadline, to show a sense of urgency.
- Clear—your statement should clearly show what you are asking of or telling your decision makers.
- Brief—not more than a paragraph or two for your statement, and a few paragraphs at most for your background.
Can I send signers a link to donate or invite them to fundraisers?
No. It is against our Terms of Service to request donations. This applies to all petition creators, including elected officials and candidates.
Can I invite my signers to volunteer events or to join my email list?
Yes! Starting and sharing your petition is a great way to gain support.
Can I ask signers to vote for me in an upcoming election?
Yes! You can ask your signers to vote for you in an upcoming election. This is a great way to build support for your candidacy.
When will my petition be tested?
If you load your petition before 11 a.m. ET, your petition will likely be tested that day. Anything loaded after 1 p.m. ET will likely be tested the following morning.
I have another question you haven’t answered yet.
Email electionpetitions@moveon.org and a dedicated member of the MoveOn support team will get back you. Please comply with election rules and do NOT include any confidential campaign information in your email.