[lomnakkus]

I can't recall any instance where this has had any remotely noticeable effect. Can you name an instance?

EDIT#1: Just to be absolutely clear: This is an incredibly transparent distraction ploy. There's no actual intention of acting on any of this.

EDIT#2: See also the recent FCC "public consultation" on Net Neutrality.

[amoorthy]

(Related to my company) I've spoken with a half dozen government officials in the US and they all said they do not consider petitions in policy making. The biggest problem they have is not knowing easily what fraction of the signers are in their constituency. Beyond this, they see petitions as a marketing ploy by organized groups and hence further discount it.

Btw, interesting article on change.org's challenges with business model: https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/05/change-dot-ug...

[Amygaz]

I can concur. In the US, representatives care about 1st, how many people will vote for them in the next election, and 2nd who is paying. That's the extend of their moral and logical debate (if any).

[BillinghamJ]

The UK's petition system (https://petition.parliament.uk) specifically collects postcode information to group votes by constituency, and even provides a handy heat map showing % of constituents who voted.

[snuoaert]

That's a little disingenuous of them. Every petition I've ever seen in the US required not only a name but an address as well, specifically for this purpose.

[amoorthy]

The challenge for the official is to sort the signatures easily to identify their constituents. Not so easy without zip+4 data (5-digit zip not always accurate on election districts).