Guide to Collecting Signatures
We need 74,574 certified signatures, and will aim for 100,000. They are due at the Town Clerks' offices no later than November 19, 2025.
It is best to use a legal size clipboard. The petition papers will be letter size but the larger clipboard makes it more comfortable for people to sign.
Any Massachusetts registered voter can sign. Each sheet will be particular to each municipality. So, signatures of people from different towns cannot be on the same sheet. A town for our purposes is where the town clerk is. As the signature gatherer, you will mark the sheet as a "Boston" sheet or a "Worcester" sheet, etc.
There are three (3) places on the form that need to have the town filled in - one on the front and two on the back. Please fill those in before you ask for signatures and double check them before you bring to a town clerk or give to a town captain.
If the town clerk cannot read the signature, it will be disqualified even if the address can be read. You may ask the signer to print his name next to the signature. If you notice an illegible signature you may ask the person to sign the sheet again. Do not cross out the illegible signature.
Stray marks are not allowed. Any stray mark will likely disqualify every signature on the sheet. If anyone uses the side of the page to get the ink flowing or crosses out their town, simply put that sheet away and start a new one.
If you must make copies, they have to be exact double- sided copies (not shrunk). They cannot be two one-sided papers taped or stapled together!
We are able to provide you with as many correct forms as needed so, if possible, call your town captain for copies.
Please give us counts of how many signatures you've gathered on a regular basis. This is extremely important so we can track our progress and update our supporters. Without accurate tracking, we will fail.
You can reach us at Tom@StopTaxpayerAbortion.org and your email will be forwarded to the correct town captain.
Once the front side of a sheet is full of signatures, file it away safely. The sight of a completely full sheet of signatures on both sides is satisfying, but it also would be devastating to discover that same sheet has, for example, a coffee or food stain (and every signature on it would get thrown out).
Highlighting is not allowed. Do not highlight or allow ANYTHING to be written on the forms other than signatures and addresses (and the municipality that you insert).
Good places to get signatures: grocery stores, especially Market Basket (please call ahead and reserve/ask permission from the store manager); churches - please schedule two Sundays in a row, to be sure everyone at your church has signed (and then consider assisting at other churches); outside Post Offices between 10:00 -12:00 (you’re never allowed to collect signatures inside the Post Office.); special town meetings; local fairs and festivals; kids' sporting events; any place there are a lot of people and parents.
If there is no captain in your town please take them to your town clerk’s office to get certified, pick them up from the clerk when they’re ready and then contact your town captain to get them from you. Alternatively, you could mail them to the address on the form: P.O. Box 345, Arlington, MA 02476.
Consider posting on your Facebook page and tweeting where you’ll be collecting signatures. Please share Stop Taxpayer Funded Abortion, MFI, MCFL, and other supporters' Facebook posts and retweet our tweets! Any questions? Email to Tom@stoptaxpayerabortion.org
THANK YOU!!