Ballot Form Instructions and Information Sheet:

Deadline for the form to be sent in is August 4th, 2010

General Information: The petition Form featured here is the official form issued by The San Diego County Registrar of voters. State law mandates that candidates for Congress, who do not belong to one particular Party (Independent voters), must obtain the signatures of a relatively massive amount of voters (10,760) in order to run for office on an equal basis against a candidate tied to the Republican or Democratic Party. Independents are not allowed to compete in a primary in order to qualify to appear on the ballot in November; instead they must collect signatures on the ballot-petition form featured here, in order to be allowed to compete in November.
       So, the gathering of signatures by an Independent candidate for office is the State mandated equivalent of a primary election. The candidates belonging to a party, gather votes that are tabulated in a primary election process, while candidates who don't belong to a political party, gather signatures on a form like the one above. The signature gathering process is dissimilar to a primary election process in a number of ways, but both processes involve contacting voters and asking for their support. A vote for a candidate running in a primary race, does not necessarily constitute a commitment from the voter to vote for the same candidate when the entire process culminates in the November election (the general election contest that will determine which candidate will represent the District in Congress). Similarly, when a voter affixes their signature to the ballot petition, they are not committing to vote for Joe Ryan in the general election, held on November 2nd, 2010; Rather, they are merely supporting the existence of a third viable candidate, in the 52nd District Congressional Election. Then, in the 3 months between July and November, the voters can carefully study each of the candidates, to see who deserves their vote on November 2nd.

Instructions: Here's step-by step instructions on how you can - with a minimum of effort and a 44 cent investment in free speech - fill-out the form and send it in.

1. First, print the form. The form is two pages and if you want a printed copy of the instructions or an address label that can be cut-out and pasted to the front of an envelope, or if you want the address handy to make your own post office label, print all three pages.

2. Write your printed name in the first available signature-block on the form, and place your signature underneath the spot for your printed name, in the box that reads, 'sign here'.

3. Then the signer will proceed to write down the physical, home address (not mailing address) on the page where it says 'Address'. Next, the city where the address is located, along with the city's zip code, go on the line below the signer's address. Nothing goes in any other boxes. The other columns are for the election officials' notes.

4. The sheet has room for up to ten voters to sign. The sheet doesn't have to completely filled-in; however, the more the better, since Joe Ryan needs 10,760 signatures to make the ballot. So, any help will be greatly appreciated, no matter how many signatures (of registered voters) are placed upon a form sent to Joe Ryan's campaign. Every single signature is a big help. Five or ten signatures helps more; but no effort will go unappreciated.

5. A voter has a choice of sending in just their own signature, or they can help Joe Ryan by asking other registered voters to sign the ballot petition form. In that case, the person who asks their friends and associates to sign-up for another candidate/choice this fall, becomes an official witness to the signing of their own signature, but they also become a witness to the signatures affixed by persons who they present the form to. If someone wants to be super helpful, they can print out multiple forms and send in 20-30 or more signatures.

6. Whether the person with the printed from is going to witness just their own signature, or whether they want to gather a few extras before they send the form in, the final step before the form is mailed to The Joe Ryan campaign, is to fill-in the second half of the second page of the form, which is referred to as "The Affidavit of the Circulator". The blank spots are filled-in with the standard information listed below, and then the circulators signature is affixed at the bottom left side of the Page. The right side is for an election official, so it's left blank.

7. Last: Staple, clip or tape the first and second pages together, and then find any old envelope, cut-out the address of Joe Ryan' campaign or write the address shown below on the envelope, and spend 44 cents to send the form in to the address below.

Legal Notes: Since a 44 cent expenditure, is considered a 'deminimus' expenditure (minimal to the point of being inconsequential), there isn't any red-tape associated with the election related task the signer/circulator is accomplishing; nobody involved is considered a worker for the campaign, and there are no reporting requirements.
       Don't be scared by the legal advisory on the bottom right corner of the second page. It's mainly aimed at people who gather signatures and then throw the signatures away, in order to defeat the signature gathering campaigns of their opponents or to strip an initiative campaign of the voters it needs (since voters can only sign one time, and after doing so they will assume the petition was not thrown away, and they will not sign a valid petition form after they sign the one that's tossed in the garbage).

Thank You: I won't be able to take the time during campaign season to personally thank people who help me get on the ballot. Please don't take any non-communication as a sign that I did not appreciate your efforts. I will try to reach out to voters that helped me -win, or lose - after the campaign season ends in November.

PLEASE SEND COMPLETED BALLOT PETITION FORMS TO:

Joe Ryan For Congress
PO Box 1135
Pine Valley, Ca. 91962