Illegal-Alien Activists Drop Challenge to Petition Signatures in Maryland
A challenge brought forward by an illegal-alien students and the group Casa de Maryland against an effort to put the Maryland DREAM Act on next year's ballot has been withdrawn. The plaintiffs will no longer challenge the sufficiency and number of petition signatures collected by MDPetitions.com that would place a repeal of the Maryland DREAM Act on the ballot.
Supporters of the new law will continue to challenge whether or not the law can be placed on the ballot for repeal.
The Maryland DREAM Act was approved by the state legislature last spring and signed into law by Gov. Martin O'Malley in early May. The bill would allow illegal aliens in Maryland who attended a Maryland high school for at least three years and graduated from a Maryland high school to receive the discounted in-state tuition rate at the state's public colleges and universities. Opponents of the law collected more than 132,000 signature, nearly twice the amount required under state law to place an item on the ballot.
"Now that both sides agree that MDPetitions.com’s petition signatures are sufficient and valid, illegal alien activists are running out of arguments to shield the Maryland DREAM Act from the voters," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "This political lawsuit is designed for one purpose: to deny Maryland voters a right to have their voices heard on the issue of taxpayer-funded perks for illegal aliens. We are confident the courts will uphold our client’s petition drive and that democracy will not be subverted."
Neil Parrott stated, "While Casa de Maryland wanted to throw out literally tens of thousands of valid signatures in an effort to short circuit the democratic process in our state, they simply could not do it. The hard work of Marylanders from the Eastern Shore, to the Baltimore region, to Southern Maryland, to the mountains in Western Maryland paid off, resulting in over 130,000 signatures submitted and over 109,000 validated signatures. These strong numbers, almost twice the required validated signatures, proved to be an obstacle that the opposition could not be overcome. This victory shows that Marylanders do have a voice, and that by working together we can defeat legislation that just doesn’t make sense."
"This is the People's Petition and the most historic referendum drive in the state of Maryland. We needed to collect 55,736 valid signatures of registered voters in less than 60 days to send SB 167 to referendum. The citizens submitted over 132,000, and the State Board of Elections validated over 108,000. Today is a great day for the people of Maryland, who are one step closer to voting on the referendum they have clearly asked for and are legally due," said Delegate McDonough.
For more information, see Judicial Watch.