The state has stringent requirements for petitions. Three important points:

• The state has official petition blanks that you must use. They are available at City Hall—you cannot print them at home. Circulators should not sign until after a sheet is filled. Signatures dated later than the circulators cannot be counted.
• You can only sign petitions equal to the number of seats open. Where any name appears on more petitions than there are candidates to be elected to a specific office, that name cannot be counted for any petition for that office.
• The state-mandated deadline to submit nominating petitions is 105 days before the election, by 4:00 p.m. at City Hall. No petitions will be accepted after this date and time.

What happens to the petitions once they’re submitted

• The City Clerk has 5 days to determine the sufficiency of the signatures. Candidates will be notified in writing immediately if they do not have at least 100 valid signatures. As long as the 105-day at 4:00 p.m. filing deadline has not passed, candidates may submit more signatures to make up for the deficiency.
• There are many statutory reasons a signature may not be valid. It is highly recommended to exceed the 100-signature minimum, keeping in mind no more than 150 can be accepted.