Help from the Hive Mind please? Need advice on a petition drive…

Hi everyone. Here’s the situation.

I’m working with a group trying to organize to collect enough signatures to bring about a permissive referendum to overturn a resolution. This is taking place in New York State, and it’s a resolution passed by a county government. 

No, I am not a lawyer, but I understand one is involved. There are legal requirements we need to meet. I am told we need enough signatures from registered county voters to reach at least 10% of the number of county residents who voted in the last gubernatorial election. Obviously we need more than that because there will be challenges. April 3rd is the deadline for when the 2,500 minimum signatures have to marked as received by the county.

We can probably get the legal side of the process covered — although if anyone is aware of any potential snags or pitfalls we might encounter, please pass the word along.

What I am looking for is advice on the practical side. What are the most effective ways to gather signatures, where can we connect with people in useful numbers, and how can we do it as quickly as we can? Please share any experiences you might have with this kind of effort, and things we should watch out for and be careful not to trip over.

Thanks!