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Petition Process

FUT Petition Validation

In order to maximize the petition validity and to save time down the road in cleanup mode, we need to do our best to validate the petition at its inception. Typical petition errors include excessive capitalization, incorrect address/email/phone number, missing 9 digit zip code, and duplicate petitions. Identified below are additional steps we need to take at the FUT stage to correct as many petition errors as possible.

Modify Excessive Capitalization

Please review the overuse of capitalization in the petitioner’s name fields (first and last) and convert them to capital for first letter and lower case for the remaining letters. The first step is to open the Petition user’s entry in the FUT. After opening the user’s FUT, click on ‘Open Profile’ under the user’s name. On the next screen you will see the user’s profile and an option to ‘Edit” on the top right of the screen. Select “Edit” from the options on the top right header. Now you can edit the Name fields and select ‘Update’ when complete. Note - Excessive capitalization for street, city, and state fields will be resolved by the Validate Address below.

Validate Address Data

For every new petition (paper or digital) we need to validate the address with the Address Lookup tool in Citizen Builder (CB). The first step is to open the Petition user’s entry in the FUT. After opening the user’s FUT, click on ‘Open Profile’ under the user’s name. On the next screen you will see the user’s profile and an option to view the “Address” on the top right of the screen. Select “Address”. On the next screen select “Address Lookup”. On the next screen select “Check” and the address options will appear in the next screen with 4 possible options.

* If a red box appears with the words “Address Differs”, this implies that the address was found with a modification to change street abbreviations, remove capitalization, or add the “+4” for the zip code. Validate that the address is basically the same, and if it is, select “Fill Address with Result”, which will return you to the previous page. Then proceed to Update Address Data below.
* If the red box doesn’t appear, and the text on the right hand side of the screen indicates that the “address is verified” you can exit that screen and continue with the next petition signer.
* If the red box doesn’t appear, and the text on the right side of the screen indicates “invalid address”, you need to reach out to the petition signer to correct the address. If no valid address can be determined, send a note to Tier II support (contact information below).
* In rare cases you may see a red box with the words “Address Differs” and “Swap”. In this case the system is offering two choices. Please select the option that best meets what the petitioner provided, then proceed to Update Address Data below. NOTE - Do not swap an address with a different street, city, or state name.

NOTE: There is a ‘Search’ option under ‘Address Lookup’ that can provide additional data on the petitioner including address, email, and phone number. Caution must be used not to swap out petition information but may be used to correct a digit or two in the Name, Email, or Phone number fields if you assume they were typed in incorrectly.

Update Address Data

* If any changes were made to the address information in the previous step, you need to select the ‘District Update’ box.
* If any of the ‘Lookup Results’ are highlighted in yellow, select ‘Fill Fields with Result’ (this includes location data). EXCEPTION – Do not change the city if the zip code remains the same. To negate the city change, remove the check mark in the blue box. National does not want the city changed as there are occasions where multiple localities share the same zip code.
* Upon returning to the previous page, select both ‘Updates’ to save the changes.

Duplicate Petitions

Paper Petitions – Before entering a paper petition please check the District Dashboard to see if a duplicate petition exists. If the petition does exist, do not enter it again. However, the FUT Team needs to determine if a thank you is required, and/or if follow up is required for anyone indicating Volunteer Interest.

* Digital Petitions – When processing FUT for a new digital petition, please check to see if the petition is a duplicate by selecting ‘Duplicate’. On the next screen select ‘Refresh Duplicates’ (e.g., Name, address, email, phone number must match). If the petition is identified as a duplicate, take “No” FUT action and notify the SIAs of the duplicate petition so that it may be deleted or merged. To notify the SIA team, go on Zulip and enter the petitioner’s name under Tech Help/Duplicates-Removal-Requests.
* Also determine if a thank you is required, and/or if follow up is required for anyone indicating Volunteer Interest

Process Support:

For any questions on using this process, or information that you can’t reasonably correct, please send either an email or text message to the following FUT Tier II support team. Please send the petitioner’s name to all Tier II support in a group text and a group email.

Janine Battaglia 215 499-5995 [email protected]

Norm Hartzel 215 527-1241 [email protected]

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Login Required to view?	No
Created:	2025-05-15 11:19 GMT
Updated:	2025-05-22 07:00 GMT
Published:	2025-05-15 11:22 GMT
Converted:	2025-11-11 12:42 GMT
Change Author:	Patrick Nitzschke
Credit Author: