intimidation
It is an unfortunate side effect of stating your opinion via a petition; someone who is on the other side of the issue might not like it.
Recently, folks who signed a petition to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker have been the victims of retaliation from opponents of the recall. The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, after scanning the petition sheets, provided the scans publicly online in an effort toward transparency. After which, opponents of the recall effort, a group called “Verify the Recall” created searchable databases of the scanned petitions. Then some anti-recall individuals created a Facebook page, now removed, threatening to publish addresses of signatories or inform business owners of employees who signed the petition.
The Missouri House has approved legislation aimed at increasing the transparency of initiative petitions that bypass the Legislature to put proposed laws or constitutional amendments on statewide ballots.
Sponsors of the petitions must gather signatures from registered voters for their proposal to qualify for the ballot.
Under the House legislation, the secretary of state’s office would offer a public comment period after a proposal is submitted. For those proposals that actually qualify for the ballot, the Joint Committee on Legislative Research would hold a public hearing.