A nominating petition is required in some jurisdictions, particularly in the United States of America, in order for an independent or non-major-party candidate to gain ballot access. A certain number of valid signatures is typically prescribed by statute in order for the candidate to get on the ballot. Thus, it is necessary to get an overage of "raw" signatures (perhaps twice as many as the statutory requirement) in order to assure getting on the ballot, as some signatures may be illegible, incomplete, of individuals not registered to vote, or not in the candidate's electoral district, or otherwise invalid. Paid petitioners sometimes assist in gathering signatures.