ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Maryland college students and an immigrant services group are going to court in defense of a state law that would grant in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants.
Opponents of the law have launched a petition drive that will put the law on the ballot in 2012 for voters to decide. Because the petition drive was certified by the state elections board, the law has yet to take effect.
Attorneys for groups that favor the law filed a lawsuit on Monday that challenges the certification of the petition drive. Joe Sandler, an attorney for the plaintiffs, contended the legislation cannot be put to a referendum because it provides government funding for education.
“Maryland’s constitution forbids subjecting that kind of law to a referendum, precisely to prevent the kind of disruption in government programs and operations that the filing of this petition has caused,” Sandler said during a news conference outside Anne Arundel County Circuit Court.
Sandler also argued that the board improperly validated thousands of signatures gathered online that he says are susceptible to fraud.Last month, the Maryland State Board of Elections validated 108,923 signatures collected in the petition drive. Opponents of the legislation needed 55,726 to put the measure on the ballot.
However, Sandler argued that more than 57,000 signatures should not have been validated. Of them, nearly 44,000 were written on forms in which information like name, date of birth and address were computer-generated.
“There’s no safeguard to make sure that they’re the person … whose name is appearing on the form,” Sandler said.
