The We the People tool on the WhiteHouse.gov is intended to foster a focused and civil conversation about how the federal government should address a range of issues. The terms of participation and moderation policy advance this limited purpose, and also help maintain the appropriate level of respect and decorum on, and the aesthetics of, the official website of the President of the United States, a website visited by Americans of all ages including schoolchildren and many other visitors who want to learn more about the United States and associate all content on the White House website with the federal government.
The right to petition your government is guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. We the People provides a new way to petition the Obama Administration to take action on a range of important issues facing our country. We created We the People because we want to hear from you. If a petition gets enough support, White House staff will review it, ensure it’s sent to the appropriate policy experts, and issue an official response.
The idea of petitioning the White House or the government isn’t new, but this online platform is. Since the White House has never featured anything like this, we expect to make some adjustments to improve the platform based on how people use the system and your feedback. We may change the signature threshold so that the workload for responding to petitions in a timely fashion is manageable.
STEP #1
Create or Sign a Petition
Anyone 13 or older can create or sign a petition on WhiteHouse.gov asking the Obama Administration to take action on a range of important issues facing our country. To get started you’ll need to create an account and verify your email address. Start thinking about the issues that matter to you, what you would like the Obama Administration to do to address the important challenges facing our country, and who you’ll ask to join you.
STEP #2
Build Support and Gather Signatures
Creating or signing a petition is just the first step. It’s up to you to build support for a petition and gather even more signatures. Use email, Facebook, Twitter and word of mouth to tell your friends, family and coworkers about the petitions you care about.
STEP #3
The White House Reviews and Responds
If a petition meets the signature threshold, it will be reviewed by the Administration and an official response will be issued. And we’ll make sure that the petition is sent to the appropriate policy makers in the Administration.
