Thread: MD - Tuition petition: Signature count climbs past 74,000

July 11, 2011

Tuition petition: (Validated) Signature count climbs past 74,000

IF YOU RECALL, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF SIGNATURES TURNED IN ON THIS EFFORT WAS OVER 130,000. SO FAR, OVER 74,000 OF THOSE SIGNATURES, AS OF FRIDAY AFTERNOON, HAVE BEEN VALIDATED.

The number of valid signatures on a petition to stop in-state tuition breaks for illegal immigrants reached 74,108 by Friday afternoon, according to the most recent report posted by the Board of Elections.

Counting is to continue this week, even though the tutition petition has already crossed the threshhold needed to put it on the November 2012 ballot. The controversial new law, called the Maryland Dream Act, will be suspended until voters have their say, though supporters have vowed court action over the referendum effort.

The latest elections board report shows that 15,736 signatures have been tossed for various reasons, including signing with a name that did not closely match the person's voter registration information. Baltimore County, where Republican Del. Patrick McDonough is an outspoken opponent of illegal immigrants, has so far supplied more than 15,000 valid signatures.

Petitioners submitted 74,980 signatures on June 30. Round One, which was due at the end of May, yielded 47,288 valid signatures.

It takes just over 55,000 valid signatures -- an amount equal to 3 percent of voters in the most recent gubernatorial election -- to trigger a referendum.

Such petition efforts have rarely been successful. Perhaps the best-known, concerning abortion laws, was on the ballot about 20 years ago. Voters upheld the bill in question.

In this case, Maryland lawmakers approved giving in-state higher education tuition rates to undocumented students who have attended at least three years of Maryland high schools and whose families have filed tax documents.

Qualified students would pay in-state tuition at community colleges and would be eligible to transfer to four-year Maryland colleges and univerisities, again at the lower tuition rates, after completing 60 credit hours.

The law passed largely on a party-line vote, though many Democrats in conservative areas voted no. The Senate approved it by a vote of 27-19. The House voted 74-65 in favor of it.

The repeal drive is spearheaded by Del. Neil Parrott, a Washington County Republican who won his seat last fall on a tea party platform.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/lo ... _coun.html

Some of the comments to this article are sad but true. It is VERY EASY for illegal aliens to vote in Maryland....as a matter of fact, this past November, Maryland lawmakers shot down a bill that would require proof of legal residence to vote in elections. HOWEVER, they are making it nearly impossible for legal voters to sign a petition to have our say!!!!!!

So the bill that would require proof of legal presence to vote in Maryland was SHOT DOWN.

At the same time, they approved this bill that would give illegal aliens in-state tuition.

Also at the same time, our Governor cut funding for the top 350 (legal) high school scholars, stating there is not enough money in the budget to provide scholarships to these top (legal) students.

Yesterday, it was also announced that senior citizens who wish to take classes at our County Community College would have to pay DOUBLE for each course they take, citing budget problems.

So what is happening in Maryland, and why so many people are outraged over illegal aliens being granted reduced tuition rates (subsidized by tax dollars), is that our top 350 LEGAL high school scholars will no longer have the scholarship money that has always been made available to them, and senior citizens who want to take college courses at our community college have to pay double, BUT illegal aliens get a reduced rate. SCREWED UP, HUH?????

Originally Posted by HippieChick

Some of the comments to this article are sad but true. It is VERY EASY for illegal aliens to vote in Maryland....as a matter of fact, this past November, Maryland lawmakers shot down a bill that would require proof of legal residence to vote in elections. HOWEVER, they are making it nearly impossible for legal voters to sign a petition to have our say!!!!!!

So the bill that would require proof of legal presence to vote in Maryland was SHOT DOWN.

At the same time, they approved this bill that would give illegal aliens in-state tuition.

Also at the same time, our Governor cut funding for the top 350 (legal) high school scholars, stating there is not enough money in the budget to provide scholarships to these top (legal) students.

Yesterday, it was also announced that senior citizens who wish to take classes at our County Community College would have to pay DOUBLE for each course they take, citing budget problems.

So what is happening in Maryland, and why so many people are outraged over illegal aliens being granted reduced tuition rates (subsidized by tax dollars), is that our top 350 LEGAL high school scholars will no longer have the scholarship money that has always been made available to them, and senior citizens who want to take college courses at our community college have to pay double, BUT illegal aliens get a reduced rate. SCREWED UP, HUH?????

Completely "SCREWED UP", HippieChick, and I'm so thrilled to see this petition drive to put the issue on the November 2012 ballot. That's plenty of time to fully educate the public about the consequences of this in-state tuition for illegal aliens and get an informed hopefully legal voting public to the polls to stop it. This will also ignite similar actions in other states with in-state tuition for illegal aliens to repeal theirs.

This is a lure and a magnet for illegal aliens to enter, to hide, to remain and benefit from breaking our laws through their children. In-state tuition is wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

Originally Posted by HippieChick

So what is happening in Maryland, and why so many people are outraged over illegal aliens being granted reduced tuition rates (subsidized by tax dollars), is that our top 350 LEGAL high school scholars will no longer have the scholarship money that has always been made available to them, and senior citizens who want to take college courses at our community college have to pay double, BUT illegal aliens get a reduced rate. SCREWED UP, HUH?????

Sadly I suspect this is actually happening on a national level.

Originally Posted by Ratbstard

Originally Posted by HippieChick

So what is happening in Maryland, and why so many people are outraged over illegal aliens being granted reduced tuition rates (subsidized by tax dollars), is that our top 350 LEGAL high school scholars will no longer have the scholarship money that has always been made available to them, and senior citizens who want to take college courses at our community college have to pay double, BUT illegal aliens get a reduced rate. SCREWED UP, HUH?????

Sadly I suspect this is actually happening on a national level.

I know you are right.

I love my state of Maryland so so much, but in all honesty, unless you are an illegal alien, our legislators don't give a crap about what you say. And I know across the nation, the feelings are the same.

This petition drive has astounded me as to how difficult it is for legal, taxpaying citizens to fight for our rights and freedoms to make our voices heard. The ACLU and Casa de Maryland has done everything to impede this petition drive, including physically positioning themselves between signature collectors and voters attempting to sign. Democracy no longer exists in this state.