I believe I stated my post poorly. I should have said the relevant definition of "petition." It more generally means to request. Regardless, it's my uninform

I believe I stated my post poorly. I should have said the relevant definition of "petition." It more generally means to request. Regardless, it's my uninformed impression that "petition" here isn't used in the specific sense of being enjoined by a number of people. You're certainly correct that they are petitions, though a petition in this sense matches petition in the general sense, as a request regardless of format. I definitely am not a Constitutional scholar, though, and I appreciate the informative response.