My personal opinion is paying per signature has evolved into an contract any person with a pulse. I have worked in states that pay per signature and pay per hour. In per hour states the circulator usually has little or no criminal background and no drug or alcohol addictions because they must pay every hour worked. Who will pay for a guy who brings in 2 signatures and claims he worked an 8 hour shift?
I believe Jerry Brown will be the next governor and he will institute heavy regulations (like Oregon) on an industry that needs it. These outfits have been warned, investigated and they still won't clean up their act. Cicrulators must be accountable for the statements they make regarding the petitions they hold. Reverse pitching and slamming such as a ban on gay marriage shouldn't be called "sign for gay marriage". As much as I support Prop 8, I was disgusted in attempts by those who would reverse pitch it.
Go to heavily petitioned areas in CA and you will hear "I don't sign petitions" over and over and over. I have talked to people who say they won't sign because they were duped, not on something minor but outright 180% against their convictions. There is no tolerance for that whatever your views are. Democracy should never be about "by any means possible" crooked or not. When coordinators are told, the attitude is "they are not my employees. I can't tell them what to say because then I will be considered their employer and am then liable for their actions." Kind of like the paparazzi, the Enquiror and TMZ don't hire them, they just contract and buy their services and claim no responsibilty. Arnold just passed a law to nail these magazines and websites that knowingly pay for paparazzi that break the law to obtain pictures.
These petition coordinators don't want employees because they would be "ACORNED". The investigation wouldn't stop at the circulator but the whole campaign. Nice fit for them, don't you think? However not for the initiative process and Californians.
There is a fine line between privacy of circulator and signer and public interest of who is circulating a petition. If a signer feels they were duped and signed then they should have recourse with a carbon of the title and summary and circulator tracking receipt number such as voter registration forms have.