Ballot initiatives and public petitions have long been the raw expression of popular will in American democracy. These tools give everyday citizens the power to propose laws, challenge entrenched interests, and compel action where legislatures refuse to lead. But in 2025, it is absurd that many states still insist on “wet” signatures, signatures executed in ink, on paper, in person, as the exclusive proof of a citizen’s support for an idea that might appear on a ballot. This insistence on archai