Tuition referendum tops 100K signatures
* Updated with Wednesday afternoon numbers from Board of Elections.
State officials sifting through thousands of pages of petitions reported this afternoon that a group trying to repeal the in-state tuition law have 102,338 valid signatures, nearly twice the number needed to trigger a referendum.
Today's report, which notes that 21,170 signatures have been rejected for various reasons, indicates elections officials are nearly done with the validation process. Petitioners submitted roughly 132,000 signatures.
The group surpassed the needed 55,736 signatures last week, but the surplus gives them a healthy cushion in case a court throws out some of the signatures. Casa de Maryland and the ACLU have both raised legal questions about methods used to gather signatures.
The controversial law allows illegal immigrants to pay the same discounted in-state tuition at Maryland colleges and universities available to legal residents. To qualify, the undocumented students must show that their families filed tax returns and attended three years of high school in Maryland.
For links to the law in question and Senate and House roll call votes, see this earlier blog post.
-- Julie Bykowicz added to this post.
Comments
All this tells us is 102,338 people need to get a life.
Posted by: Ray Barcia | July 13, 2011 6:32 PM
Ray's response is an ad hominem attack. So when you can't argue with the merits of the case, personally attack your opponents.
Posted by: Jeff Robinson | July 14, 2011 10:20 AM
This tells us that many in this state just don't want to spend money on people that aren't even in this country legally. I simply don't want any of my tax money going to people that broke the law to either get into or stay in this country. I don't think this is flawed logic. I do not believe it is too much to ask that you become an officially documented resident of this country (I'm not just talking about living here) before receiving any federal, state or local money. Bottom line is this will be determined at the ballot box and there is nothing wrong with that.
Posted by: Ben | July 14, 2011 11:21 AM
What do you have against democracy Ray Barcia?
Posted by: john | July 14, 2011 11:30 AM
Ray, They are illegal immigrants...they are not citizens and not a single penny of tax payer money should be used to educate them. Let them go to their country if don't like it! What good does it do to help them get a degree when they can't legally work?
Posted by: Simon Edwards | July 14, 2011 2:04 PM
John 10:1 And Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.
I will not support thieves and robbers with my taxes!
Posted by: Joe | July 20, 2011 9:42 PM