Tuesday, November 6, 2012
DREAM Act, expanded gambling and congressional redistricting also survive referendum challenges.
UPDATED (2:26 a.m.)—Same-sex marriage is the law in Maryland. The passage of the controversial law was the biggest win among a list of six other statewide ballot questions including the DREAM Act, expanded gambling and congressional redistricting that all also passed. Gov. Martin O'Malley took to the podium to address the Question 6 victory party at The Soundstage in Baltimore early Wednesday to chants of his last name. O'Malley thanked the crowd for all they had done "in this noble battle to move Maryland Forward." The governor praised supporters for all their hard work and for securing support for the controversial ballot question by talking to their families and their religious institutions. "You were carrying this banner of human …
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Dr. Joshua Starr said the ballot referendum "is not about politics: it’s about our future and the future of our students."
Supporters of the Maryland Dream Act recently scored two high-profile endorsements: Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP, and Dr. Joshua Starr, superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools. Starr, who heads the largest school system in the state, said the ballot referendum that would allow undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition should they meet certain prerequisites "is not about politics." His written statement: "The Maryland DREAM Act is not about politics: it’s about our future and the future of our students. The Act would simply allow hard-working students who have been in our system for years to pursue the dream of post-secondary education and receive in-state tuition rates. A college education is …
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
As advocates boost their million-dollar ad campaign, more than 800 faith leaders will rally Tuesday in Silver Spring to spur more voter outreach ahead of Election Day.
With Election Day just two weeks away, "Dream Act" advocates have stepped up their million-dollar ad campaign and are convening a pair of rallies this week, one of which is expected to draw more than 800 faith-based activists to Silver Spring today. Signed into law after narrowly clearing the 2011 legislative session, the Dream Act would allow illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition if they: A Republican-led petition drive quickly garnered more than 100,000 signatures, more than twice what was required to send it to referendum. If it survives the Nov. 6 vote, Maryland voters will be the first in the nation to approve in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. Dream Act opponents say that the collection of so many signatures in less than …
Thursday, October 18, 2012
How will you vote on the Congressional redistricting plan on Nov. 6?
In addition to more notable referendum questions such as same-sex marriage, DREAM Act and expanded gambling, Maryland voters will also be asked to decide the fate of the state's recently redrawn congressional districts. Earlier this week, Comptroller Peter Franchot announced he intends to vote against the maps and asked voters to do the same. The comptroller said the recent maps drawn by Gov. Martin O'Malley and approved by the General Assembly are unfair and make Maryland "the poster child for gerrymandering." A spokeswoman for the governor noted that the maps have survived a number of challenges in the courts and that the process used to create them is legally sound. Voters on Nov. 6 will be asked to vote for the referred law or against …
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
What financial effect would the Dream Act have?
The first in-depth fiscal analysis of the Maryland “Dream Act” claims that the law would yield a $66 million long-term gain for each yearly group of undocumented students allowed to pay in-state tuition at state community colleges and universities. The Dream Act was signed into law in the spring of 2011 but was promptly stymied by a Republican-led referendum petition. It is one of four controversial statewide ballot questions voters will settle on Nov. 6. It would allow certain illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at Maryland community colleges and, later, universities. The qualifications include: Qualifying students would start at a two-year community college. When they apply to a four-year school, they would be evaluated as part of…
Friday, October 5, 2012
Media blitz and 1,000-person march mark the beginning of the homestretch in the ballot battle over in-state tuition for undocumented students.
With Election Day a month away, supporters of the Maryland “Dream Act” have hit the airwaves and are putting on their last and biggest public display ahead of the Nov. 6 vote. Maryland’s DREAMers—students, immigrant advocates, clergy and elected officials—are planning to march Saturday afternoon from Casa de Maryland’s multicultural center in Langley Park to the University of Maryland-College Park in a show of solidarity and to push Dream Act supporters to register to vote. Organizers are expecting a thousand participants. Signed into law in May 2011, the Dream Act would allow undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition in the state’s university system if they meet a set of requirements, including having graduated from a Maryland…
Thursday, August 30, 2012
With two months until Election Day, a new campaign is launched to win two controversial ballot initiatives.
Casa de Maryland, the state’s largest immigrant advocacy organization, and Equality Maryland, the largest LGBT rights group, have forged an alliance to convince voters to approve same-sex marriage and to allow certain college-bound illegal immigrant students to pay in-state tuition. Dubbed “Familia es Familia,” the campaign launched Tuesday in Langley Park with advocates framing same-sex marriage and the Maryland Dream Act as kindred causes grounded in a family-first sensibility. The campaign will draw its persuasive power from the personal experiences of young, LGBT immigrants. Montgomery County Councilwoman Nancy Navarro told the story of her brother Pedro, who came out to her and her sister 17 years ago, reported The Washington Blade…
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Ballot questions that could reshape social landscape could get short-shrift by voters.
The phrase you choose can cast aspersions and draw allegiances at its mere utterance.
Amid the raging invective focused on the nation’s efforts to deal with unlawful immigration, a war of words wages in the undercurrent—a subtle struggle over the language used to define the discussion. Are the millions of people in the United States who are not here lawfully “illegal” or are they “undocumented”? The question is not mere semantics, activists and experts say: Choosing one over the other exposes allegiances and stokes the embers of animosity. Take for example the ballots that await Maryland voters in this November’s election. Question 4—the referendum on Maryland’s version of the “Dream Act”—will ask whether the state should allow “undocumented immigrants” to be eligible for in-state tuition. Immigrant advocates tend to abhor…
Monday, August 27, 2012
Same-sex marriage, in-state tuition for illegal immigrants, expanded gambling and congressional redistricting all come down to state voters this November.
With voters deciding four of Maryland’s most divisive issues, pundits and pols are bracing for an Election Day outcome the likes of which the state has never seen. The Nov. 6 ballot will feature seven statewide referenda in all—the most ever, reported The Washington Post. Those ballot questions were certified last week, to include: one question each for Prince George’s County and Baltimore County to require that orphan’s court judges pass the Maryland Bar, and a change in state law to accelerate the removal or suspension of elected officials convicted of crimes while in office. The other four ballot questions are expected to spur unprecedented electioneering by advocates on all sides: SAME-SEX MARRIAGE If gay couples come out of Nov. 6 …
Voice of Reason
2:02 pm on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Yeah, those non-procreating gays are going to lead to our extinction because under-population is such a huge problem right now, right? Also if the human body decides what is and isn't a marriage ( a ridiculous statement to start with ) then the physical attraction they feel towards their partner just further legitimizes it. more ›