Restricted Circulation

Labor Day, any home-schooled Lake County child will tell you, is a Federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that commemorates the Octomom. Labor Day has traditionally marked the beginning of the fall election campaign -- in this case the 2016 fall Presidential election. In Lake County it marks the beginning of the petition circulation period for the 2014 Primary.

Like candidates, their petitions come in all shapes and sizes. Poorly paid petition passers typically do not know Illinois law (beyond those laws applicable to their arrest records).  So it advisable that your campaign volunteers understand the rules that need to be observed when gathering petition signatures.

As readers of this blog are inadvertently aware:

You Say Petition, I Say Apparition

One campaign has already instructed its volunteers not to use invisible ink:

13. Signatures need to be in ink.
No pencil, crayon, marker, or invisible ink allowed.

It's no secret the average Lake County petition passer would have a difficult time if asked to twerk and chew gum at the same time.  Accordingly, many local campaigns spell out in detail what their volunteers should and should not do when asking for signatures.  Here are the ten most common campaign petitioner's faux pas to watch out for:

Ten Rules to Observe When Circulating Your Candidate's Nominating Petition
13a.	It is a violation of Illinois statutes to text while petitioning.
13b.	Photocopies of a tattooed petition will not be accepted.
13c.	Your concealed weapon is not a sales tool.
13d.	No Shirt. No Shoes. No Petition.
13e.	No Pants. No Petition.
13f.	Petition passers are not automatically licensed to prescribe medical marijuana.
13g.	Do not stand between your mark and his video poker machine.
13h.	Do not ask for a DNA sample.
13i.	Do not say "Put your John Hancock here." (Unless their name actually is John Hancock.)
13j.	Photoshop is not your friend.

Do not look for your LakeCountyEye in pencil, crayon, marker, or invisible ink on a petition near you.