Guide for Volunteers Circulating Petitions to Get Joe Kopsick on the Ballot for U.S. House

     This document was created by the campaign to elect Joe Kopsick to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020. It was created to instruct campaign volunteers on how to approach potential voters and signatories to the petition to get Joe Kopsick on the ballot, by name, on November 3rd, 2020.

     The document has been published here, for two reasons: 1) to allow campaign volunteers to access this information for job training purposes; and 2) to show other independent and growing campaigns how to train signature gatherers for their own campaign's purposes.

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Phase 1:

APPROACHING VOTERS POLITELY AND CASUALLY

and

FINDING OUT WHETHER THE PERSON YOU'RE TALKING TO IS A REGISTERED VOTER

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Step 1A:

     Decide, carefully, whom to approach. Avoid people who are using cell phones, talking to other people, or who appear to be in a rush. Take care not to bother people who may be busy.

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Step 1B:

     Approach the person casually; do not come within 6 feet of them. Take care not to appear to follow people or intimidate them.

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Step 1C:

     Avoid misgendering the person; do not use the phases “ma'am”, “madam”, “girl”, “sir”, “dude”, “man”, “my guy”, etc..

     Address the person in a gender-neutral fashion, using any one of the following icebreakers:
- “May I have a moment of your time?”
- “Do you have a second to talk about the election?”
- “Hi, are you a registered voter?” or “Excuse me, are you a registered voter?”

     If the person is interested, then proceed to Step 5 (determining whether the person is registered).

     If the person is not interested, then see Step 4.

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Step 1D:

     If the person appears very reluctant to engage you, or says they're not interested, do not bother them any further. If they say something, say “Thank you for your time” if it's appropriate. Avoid inconveniencing and upsetting them, wait a moment, and move on to another person (i.e., go back to Step 1).

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Step 1E:

     If the person says “I don't know” (after Step 3), show them the QR code that lets them know whether they're registered, and which districts they live in. Tell them that they can enter their name, address, and birth date on that page, to get that information.

     If the person has time, invite them to do it on their cell phone, or use your own (if the voter is OK with that).

     If the person is not registered to vote, but they want to help, tell them that their signature will be counted as long as they register to vote by July 20^th, 2020.
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Phase 2:

EXPLAINING THE CAMPAIGN AND INTRODUCING JOE KOPSICK

and

EXPLAINING WHAT THE PETITION DOES, AND WHAT THE SIGNATURE MEANS
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     Step 2A:

     If the person is registered to vote, say either:

- “I'm working with a campaign to elect Joe Kopsick to the U.S. House. Do you know who you're voting for, for Congress, this year?”, or

- “I'm working with a campaign to start a Mutualist Party in Illinois. Are you satisfied by the current set of choices you have, in regards to political parties in America?

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     Step 2B:

     If the person is interested, and wants to know more, then tell them the following:

- “I work for a campaign that's collecting signatures to get independent candidate Joe Kopsick on the ballot for U.S. House on November 3^rd. Every signature also helps establish a Mutualist Party in Illinois.”

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     Step 2C:

     Offer them free campaign literature, whether they want to sign the petition or not. But do not make them take it if they don't want it.

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     Step 2D:

     If the person wants to know more about what they're signing, and what the petition does, tell them the following:

- “This petition helps get independent candidate Joe Kopsick on the ballot for Congress, and it helps establish a Mutualist Party in Illinois.”

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     Step 2E:

     If the person wants to know more about the Mutualist Party, then give them the relevant literature, and explain the following:

- “Joe Kopsick has founded a Mutualist Party in Illinois, but he is currently the party's only candidate. Every signature that helps get Joe Kopsick on the ballot, helps the Mutualist Party get closer to 5% of the vote, at which point the party would be legally recognized as a major party in the State of Illinois.”

     If the person still wants to know what the Mutualist Party is about, explain the following:

- “The party supports making the economy fairer and more free at the same time, and wants the economic system of Mutualism to be a balancing influence between socialism (on the left) and capitalism (on the right).”

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Step 2F:

     If the person wants to know more about what they're signing, and what the petition does, tell them the following:

- “This petition helps get independent candidate Joe Kopsick on the ballot for Congress, and it helps establish a Mutualist Party in Illinois.”

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Step 2G:

     If the person needs more information about what the petition does, say the following:

     “It's for registered voters (or people who will register to vote by July 20^th) who want to see Joe Kopsick appear on the November 3^rd ballot for Congress. The full name of the position is U.S. Representative from Illinois's 10^th congressional district. Signing this petition helps Joe Kopsick get on the ballot by name.”

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Step 2H:

     If the person doesn't know whether they live in the 10^th district, then show them either or both of the following two things, to find out:

     1. The list of towns, with the district map on the other side (copies of which have been provided to you).

     Towns: Bannockburn, Beach Park, Buffalo Grove (portions), Deerfield, Des Plaines (portions), Diamond Lake, Fort Sheridan, Fox Lake, Fremont Center, Gages Lake (portions), Glencoe, Glenview (portions), Great Lakes, Green Oaks, Grayslake, Gurnee (portions), Hainesville, Highland Park and Kennedy, Highwood, Indian Creek, Indian Trails, Ingleside, Kildeer, Lake Bluff and Knollwood, Lake Forest and Mettawa, Lake Villa (portions), Lakemoor (portions), Libertyville, Lincolnshire, Lindenhurst (portions), Long Grove, Long Lake, Mt. Prospect (portions), Mundelein and Ivanhoe and Sylvan Lake, Niles (portions), North Chicago, Northbrook (portions), Park City, Prairie View, Prospect Heights (portions), Riverwoods, Rondout, Round Lake, Round Lake Beach, Round Lake Heights, Round Lake Park, Third Lake, Vernon Hills, Volo (portions), Wadsworth (portions), Waukegan, West Miltmore, Wheeling, Wildwood, Winthrop Harbor, Zion

     2. The QR code that allows voters to determine whether they're registered, and which districts they live in

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     Step 2I:

     Ask the person to sign the petition. Say “Would you like to sign the petition?”

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Phase 3:

CLOSING THE DEAL
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     Step 3A:

     If they're already eager to sign, and you've skipped over some of the previous steps, and they want to know, quickly, what the petition does, then give them this concise explanation:

- “This petition helps get independent candidate Joe Kopsick on the ballot for Congress, and it helps establish a Mutualist Party in Illinois.”

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     Step 3B:

     If the person asks “How many signatures do you need?”, tell them this:

     - “One thousand two hundred nine (1,209).”

     If they ask “Why is that?”, tell them this:

     - “It's one-half of a percent of the number of people who voted in the same race in the previous election, which was 2018”.

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     Step 3C:

     If the person asks, “What happens if you don't get enough signatures?”, say the following:

     - “If the campaign doesn't get enough signatures to get Joe Kopsick's name on the ballot, then voters will still be able to vote for him on November 3^rd; by writing his name into the write-in space on the ballot, which will be underneath the names of his opponents who get their names on the ballot.”

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     Step 3D:

     If the person asks where you're getting this information from, say this:

     - “All of this information is available in the 2020 Candidate's Guide, which can be downloaded from the Illinois state Board of Elections website.”

     (That website is at www.elections.il.gov)

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     Step 3E:

     If the person asks whether they will be obligated to do anything, or prohibited from doing anything, as a consequence of signing this form – or if they ask specifically whether they will be obligated to vote for Joe Kopsick on Election Day – then tell them the following:

     - “This form is not a binding obligation to support the candidate on Election Day; this is only saying 'I want another choice on the ballot for U.S. House, and I want that choice to be Joe Kopsick.' But if you sign this petition, then you may not sign a petition supporting any of his opponents' efforts to get on the ballot, for the rest of the signature gathering period.” (That period ends on July 20^th, 2020.)

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Step 3F:

If the person makes a mistake while filling the form out, ask them to start over again, and fill a blank line in correctly from the start. Remember which line they made the mistake on, so you can include that line on the list of deletions.

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Step 3G:

     If the person asks whether they can leave a petition out for people to sign, tell them no. Petition circulators must be physically present while signatures are being collected.

     Tell them that they can help us collect signatures to put Joe Kopsick on the ballot, but only if they stay with the forms while collecting, to make sure that voters fill out the forms correctly.

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Step 3H:

     Thank the person for their signature.

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Step 3I:
     Offer them additional literature.

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Step 3J:

     Point to business cards, or other information, to let them know how to get in touch with the candidate and the campaign.

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Step 3K:

     Tell the person, “Would you like to stay updated about the campaign via e-mail, or help the campaign collect signatures?”

     If they say yes, then show them the sheet; ask for their name, town, and e-mail address; and ask them to indicate whether they'd like to receive e-mails, volunteer, or both.

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Step 3L:

     Wish them a pleasant day (or week, or month; whatever is appropriate for the situation).

     Unless it would be rude, also remind them to register to vote by July 20^th, and/or to vote for Joe Kopsick on November 3^rd.

     If they leave the encounter still unsure as to whether they'll support Joe, remind them to vote that day in general.

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In order to sign petitions to help Joe Kopsick get on the ballot,
you must meet ALL FIVE of the below requirements:
___________________________________________________________________________________1. You must be an eligible voter.
(convicted felons' signatures will be counted, but undocumented immigrants' signatures will not)

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2. You must turn 18 by Election Day (must be born on or before November 3^rd, 2002)

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3. You must register to vote by July 20^th, 2020.
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4. You must NOT have signed a petition for any of Joe Kopsick's opponents in the 10^th District race

[i.e., Brad Schneider (D), Valerie Mukherjee (R), David Rych (L), and Bradley Sigmund Heinz (I)]

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5. You must be a resident of Illinois's 10^th Congressional District, comprised of the following towns:

Bannockburn

Beach Park

Buffalo Grove

(northern half only)

Deerfield

Des Plaines

(northern half only)

Diamond Lake

Fort Sheridan

Fox Lake

Fremont Center

Gages Lake

(central and southern parts only)

Glencoe

Glenview(western half only)

Great Lakes

Green Oaks

Grayslake

Gurnee

(southwest, southeast, and northeast corners only)

Hainesville

Highland Park

(incl. Kennedy)

Highwood

Indian Creek

Indian Trails

Ingleside

Kildeer

Lake Bluff

(incl. Knollwood)

Lake Forest

(incl. Mettawa)

Lake Villa

(southern half only)

Lakemoor

(northeast
quarter only)

Libertyville

Lincolnshire

Lindenhurst

(all parts except portions

of northeast)

Long Grove

Long Lake

Mt. Prospect

(eastern half only)

Mundelein

(incl. Ivanhoe

and Sylvan Lake)

Niles

(extreme northwest corner only)

North Chicago

Northbrook

(areas northwest

of Shermer Rd.)

Park City

Prairie View

Prospect Heights

(southern half only)

Riverwoods

Rondout

Round Lake

Round Lake Beach

Round Lake Heights

Round Lake Park

Third Lake

Vernon Hills

Volo

(central and
north only)

Wadsworth

(eastern half only)

Waukegan

West Miltmore

Wheeling

Wildwood

Winthrop Harbor

Zion

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1,209 signatures will be required (0.5% of the number of people who voted in the 2018 election)

and must be collected and turned in before July 20^th, 2020.

If you'd like to volunteer to canvass / collect signatures for Joe Kopsick for Congress,

email jwkopsick@gmail.com (or call 608-417-9395) to request petition forms!

Illinois's 10th congressional district

Written and Originally Published on July 3rd, 2020

Expanded on July 4th, 2020