Students at SF State may sometimes marvel at the number of signature gatherers they encounter while walking across campus.

Hawking everything from pension reform to new health care programs to environmental laws, the gatherers present a dizzying array of choices for registered voters.

Some signature gatherers at SF State earn around $1 for every signature they receive from students. These petitioners are paid by private companies to collect signatures on proposed ballot initiatives.

The State Senate is currently considering a bill, SB 469, which would mandate that petitions must carry, in clear, large type, a note indicating whether the signature gatherer is paid or a volunteer.

The bill would also require initiative petitions to identify the top five donors who support the effort.
State Sen. Debra Bowen (D-Redondo Beach) authored the bill, which was passed by the Senate Elections Committee on April 6 and will be heard next by the appropriations committee on April 18.

Bowen said that it's all part of an effort to help registered voters make more informed decisions, according to her official statement on the bill.

While some signature gatherers on campus are passionate about their cause and some work on a volunteer basis, students say others seem uninformed about the petitions they advocate.

“I signed two or three of them, but it seems like most of them (the petitioners) don’t know what they’re handing out,” Russian major Joseph Herlicy said.

Citizens to Save California is the main organization supporting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed ballot initiatives, which would make changes to the pay and tenure systems for public school teachers and change state spending rules. The group has raised money to hire signature gatherers for the initiatives, though they are not providing direct financial support to two other initiatives that Schwarzenegger has announced.

Spokeswoman Joanne Monaco said the companies her organization hired are responsible for training the signature gatherers, if necessary. Monaco also said she was not aware of any required training.
Different organizations handle the petitions in different ways.

Eric Keener, an independent contractor who gathers signatures at SF State, turns his petitions in to an office in Richmond. Although Keener said he worked as an independent contractor, he would not specify what company paid him to get students to sign the petitions. But Keener said there was no training involved.

"We don't train," Keener said. "We just go out and do it."

James Martel, a professor of political theory at SF State, said if people know the petitioners are getting paid, then the new bill is "a step in the right direction."

Fonk Rockwell, a BECA major, said he is skeptical of signature gatherers.

“There is so much information out there, people don’t know what to believe and they (the petitioners) don’t put it into simple terms," said Rockwell.

Environmental Action, a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, is part of a lobbying organization that asks students to contribute to an effort to stop mercury pollution in the ocean. They also pay their signature gatherers.

“The pay is not very good but it’s for a good cause,” said Ande Adamson, who works for Environmental Action on campus. “It’s the kind of thing (where) you can go home and feel like you did a great thing.”

Adamson said a lot of the other groups on campus are not the same as the organization that he works for, because he said he feels strongly about the issue he is promoting and believes in it enough to talk to students in order to educate them. Other agencies that try to get signatures are not as forthcoming about their agendas, according to Adamson.

“A lot of people don’t realize what they’re signing,” Adamson said.

Pacific Petition is one Bay Area firm that employs people to gather signatures, but according to Robin Boney, an employee for over a year, the organization is losing credibility.

"Last year it was fun, but this year it sucks because everyone thinks you’re working for Schwarzenegger,” said Boney.

Victor Tracey, a member of the College Republicans, said when it comes to paying people to collect signatures, it depends on the issue.

“I don’t think it’s good for people to pay for it or be getting paid for (the signatures),” said Tracey.
More than 60 initiatives are being prepared for the possibility of a special statewide election, which can only be called by the Governor, to take place this fall.