How many signatures are needed for a petition to be effective

Thus, unlike other petition sites, GoPetition gives complete discretion to each author to publish or NOT publish a signature goal. In cases where there may be a legal minimum of required signatures for example to get a person or issue placed on a state or local ballot; or to have a matter considered by executive government then a clear signature goal is needed.

The White House and British Government has such minimums. In these cases each petition author should research the exact number of signatures needed and the verification process if any required by the jurisdiction in question. In , a special committee recommended that this traditional language, which it saw as archaic, no longer be used. For example, in Figure Until , all petitions were to be addressed to the House of Commons or to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled.

Since , certification has also been granted to petitions addressed to the Government of Canada as a whole, a particular Minister of the Crown or a Member of Parliament. Petitions, to be certified for presentation to the House, must contain a prayer, that is, a clear, proper and respectful request that the House, the government, a Minister or a Member take, or refrain from taking, some sort of action in response to an alleged grievance.

Petitions without prayers, that is, documents consisting solely of statements of opinion or statements of grievance, cannot be accepted as petitions. The prayer of a petition must request action which is within the powers of the House or the federal government to take. Therefore, it follows that the petition as a whole must set forth a case where the House, the government, a Minister or a Member has the authority to intervene. Over the years, the House has chosen to delegate certain matters to the courts and other administrative and regulatory bodies.

Petitions dealing with matters which the House has delegated to another body have not always been found acceptable. By virtue of parliamentary privilege, the House has the inherent right to decide matters affecting its own membership. The power of the House to expel one of its Members derives from its traditional authority to determine whether Members are qualified to sit.

Therefore, petitions requesting the expulsion of a Member of Parliament have been considered unacceptable. British citizens and UK residents can then sign your petition — and can only sign a petition once.

The Petitions Committee reviews all petitions we publish. They select petitions of interest to find out more about the issues raised. They have the power to press for action from government or Parliament. At 10, signatures your petition on the UK Government and Parliament site gets a response from the government.

At , signatures your petition on the UK Government and Parliament site will be considered for a debate in Parliament. Debates Petitions which reach , signatures are almost always debated. MPs might consider your petition for a debate before it reaches , signatures. The Petitions Committee The Petitions Committee can: write to you for more information invite you to talk to the Committee in person about your petition — this could be in Parliament or somewhere else in the UK ask for evidence from the Government or other relevant people or organisations press the government for action ask another parliamentary committee to look into the topic raised by a petition put forward a petition for debate The Petitions Committee is set up by the House of Commons.

It accuses an identifiable person or organisation of wrongdoing, such as committing a crime It names individual officials of public bodies, unless they are senior managers It names family members of elected representatives, eg MPs, or of officials of public bodies It asks for someone to be given an honour, or have an honour taken away. You will be informed when your petition is sent to a select committee.

The select committee may invite the petitioner to make a submission on their petition. If you make a submission, you can send some extra written material to the committee ahead of the hearing so committee members have more detail about why you have made your request. The committee will decided how long you have to present for. As petitioner, you can bring a support person if you would like.

As well as the petitioner, the select committee may invite other people to submit on the petition, such as experts or people with relatable personal experience. When the select committee reports back to the House, they may include recommendations. If these are to the Government, the Government has to respond to them within a certain time approximately three months after the select committee reports.

For any other questions or help with your petition, you can get in touch with the Office of the Clerk. Search Advanced Search Search. Search Search. For more information about tours and visiting Parliament, click here. The House next meets on Tuesday, 16 November Listen There is no current live audio feed.

Originally published: 27 May Can anyone create a petition? Is there any difference between a paper and an e-petition? Can I make my petition a mixture of a paper and e-petition? Is there a word limit for petitions? Petitions have a character limit.

Title: 80 characters Request: characters Reason: characters Petitions must be brief, and the request must focus on asking the House to take a defined action, without any extraneous material. Do I need evidence to support my petition? Why would a petition not be accepted?

Can I include photos or videos in my petition? Are there any risks or things that you should avoid when you are creating a petition?