Shout-out to the woman who said cheerfully, “I’m happy to sign a petition sheet for anyone who’s willing to stand outside with a clipboard and ask for signatures.” I pretty much agree — in general, I think people who want to run for office should get to run.
I can see the utility of petitions to make sure the ballot doesn’t get flooded with nonsense candidates who aren’t taking it seriously, but aside from that — I’ll generally sign for you even if I disagree with you on many policy fronts, and we’ll hash it all out on the campaign trail.
That said, I wouldn’t sign a petition for a Nazi, because anytime you can get in a Nazi’s way as they grab for power, you should. So for me, there’s a line.