The beauty of democracy is the power of choice. We can choose to stand behind an issue, or we can stand in opposition. However, what happens when an issue arises that so moves us, we need to take action? How can we change the attitude of the opposing side, or of lawmakers, so our viewpoint prevails? Often, Americans use online petitions to state their wants and lobby for their preferred solution.

Let’s take a closer look.

What are online petitions?
In short, an online political petition is a request or demand to government officials or representatives to change existing or proposed legislation. Typically, a statement in the beginning of the petition addresses the current situation and states what the people want. Signers give their name and email address for verification and authentication purposes.

For instance, Save Our Planet is a petition that sought to fight climate change in the years since the Kyoto accord. With more than 450,000 signatures, the petition clearly stated the wants of the people, as well as desired solutions to the climate change problem. Although not everyone could go to the G8 Summit or speak to world leaders in person, this petition bridged the gap between the people and the decision makers.

Since we may not always have access to government officials or representatives, online petitions are an easy and convenient method to let your voice be heard. There are many petition platforms to help you create and distribute them, such as Change.org, iPetitions.com, MoveOn.org, Avaaz.org, and even directly into the White House.

Do they work?
Online petitions can have success depending on if the issue is realistic, if the targets — both the public and the decision maker — are reachable, if the official isn’t too opposed, and if opposition isn’t also mobilized. Reaching a large population is vital. You can’t just put the petition on one of the above platforms and expect to gain millions of signatures. You have to create some momentum and sustain it.

Sharing the petition on social media or contacting the target market via email, telephone, or traditional mail are great ways to keep the petition alive. Creating buzz through press releases, media attention, blogging, and grassroots efforts are other ways to increase awareness and keep the issue on the forefront of the minds of the people. A good example is the petition that requested Secretary Hillary Clinton to Publicly Support Saudi Women’s Right to Drive. After ample awareness was brought to the petition through grassroots efforts and media attention, Clinton backed the issue with her full support.

However, what happens if your petition does not yield positive results, such as not getting enough signatures or failing to change a policy? One alternative is to change your target. For instance, targeting your district and petitioning your representative instead of targeting the nation and petitioning the president or all of congress. A smaller audience can be easier to reach. And strongly convincing a single strategic official can often be more effective than mildly influencing a larger group.

Another effective strategy is to partner with existing groups and parties to help you spread awareness and get the petition in the eyes of the right people. And even if your petition doesn’t have enough signatures to get the attention of the White House or cause immediate change, at the very least, petitions educate. They bring awareness of a topic to Americans even if they don’t sign them.

What’s the alternative?
What happens if you try the petition route and you’re just not reaching your representatives and government officials? One alternative is to use in-depth surveys, such as those on PeopleCount.org. Viewing them, representatives can gain thorough knowledge and insight into what many Americans want and need. As opposed to a petition which is very simple yes or no vote, surveys can provide representatives and officials with a wide array of citizen thoughts and opinions.

In addition, answers can be adjusted when someone changes their opinion, which means these results are constantly up-to-date. Since the results are available to the public as well, Americans can then know they can hold their representatives accountable for what the people wanted.

Online petitions and in-depth surveys can be powerful resources. Not only do they let you reach out to government officials, they make your voice heard.  And this is the basic foundation of a democratic nation.

What do you think? Have you participated in an online petition or an in-depth survey? Why or why not?