petitions mostly used in politics to gather information about you, unless they are for official business like a petition to discharge, designating petitions, etc.
no, just someone who works in State politics, and sees what the information is used for
I signed it, cause I have zero fucks to give anymore
if the petition is made up by the elected official and they are seeking you to sign it - they want your email for their list and to Voter ID you on issues, etc.
if you are signing a petition made up by a group that is going to send it to an elected official, 9 times out of 10, the elected official has zero fucks to give about your petition because there is usually no way to validate the authenticity of the individuals on the petition - no physical address, no witness, etc, and most elected officials have zero fucks to give about anything except for getting re-elected
official petitions - nominating for office in certain states are just that - official petitions - your sign your name, address and swear that you are the person signing it - and there is a witness or notary required
pick up your phone and call your Congressional Representative or US Senator
go and volunteer for your Congressional Representative candidate - they are all up for election this year and some of your US Senate candidates are as well
Elected official are most receptive to voter input the year they are up for election because they all want to be re-elected
Join your local GOP Committee and work at getting the scum out from the inside - get in the game, don't be a "political tourist" and look in from the outside