Posted on 06/11/2011 6:13:18 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
The Maryland State Board of Elections said Friday that is looking into concerns about the potential for fraud with the online petition-gathering system being used by opponents of a new law that grants college tuition breaks to in-state illegal immigrants.
In a May 31 letter to elections officials, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland asks for a review of the online system’s legality. The group MDPetitions.com is using the system to mount what appears to be a highly effective campaign to put the new law on hold.
If the group collects 55,736 valid signatures — or 3 percent of the number of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election — by June 30, the law will be subject to a public referendum in November 2012. As of Thursday, election officials had verified 41,194 signatures in an ongoing tally.
“Online systems for signature gathering in support of a petition drive are new to Maryland, and raise serious questions about whether election officials can meaningfully scrutinize the authenticity of signatures, verify each signer’s intent, and investigate possible acts of fraud,” said Deborah Jeon, legal director for the ACLU of Maryland.
The ACLU suggests that the system does not meet standards in Maryland law because it can automatically fill in other required information on the petition form based on someone’s name, Zip code and birth date. That, the ACLU argues, makes it easy to forge a signature and fraudulently submit the name of someone who has not filled out the petition.
Jared DeMarinis, a state elections official, said Friday that the elections board had received the ACLU’s letter and “is in consultation with the attorney general’s office regarding its validity.”
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I’m certain that the ACLU questioned signature-gathering campaigns for, say, amnesty and guest-worker program referenda, yes?
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
They are inconsistent, or maybe they've given us a way to use them against themselves. Think of it this way. We do a petition and we approach every illegal possible. He or she gives us false information and we sign his or her name for him or her.
Now what's wrong with that?
Street Address (Directions and Maps) 151 West Street,
Suite 200
Annapolis, MD 21401
Office hours are 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Mailing Address P.O. Box 6486
Annapolis, MD 21401-0486 Phone 410-269-2840 Toll Free 800-222-8683 Fax 410-974-2019 410-974-5415 410-974-5126 Maryland Relay Service 800-735-2258 E-mail info@elections.state.md.us
http://www.elections.state.md.us/about/staff.html
This list details the name and function of the entire Maryland State Board of Elections staff.
Administration
Linda H. Lamone
State Administrator
Ross Goldstein
Deputy State Administrator
Candidacy and Campaign Finance Division
Jared DeMarinis
Director
Ruth Maynard
Auditor\ Candidacy
Vicki Molina
Campaign Accounts
Ebony R. Sherbert-Parran
Campaign Accounts
Victorica Smith
Campaign Accounts
Erin Dennis
Receptionist
Election Management Division
Donna J. Duncan
Director
Election Reform Division
Nikki Baines Trella
Election Reform Director
Rick Urps
Deputy Director
Finance & Budget Management and Procurement
Valerie O’ Connor
Director
Christine Oswald
Fiscal Processing
Accounts Payable/Receivable
Vacant
Procurement
Personnel Services Division
Jackie Bryley
Director
Joanne Blackwell
Benefits Specialist/Coordinator
Information Technology and Security Division
Michael Kortum
Chief Information Officer
Vincent Omenka
Network Administrator
Daniel O’Connell
Technical Support Specialist
Natasha Walker
Webmaster
Vacant
Database Administrator
Janey E. Hegarty
Administrative Assistant
Voter Registration Division
Mary Cramer Wagner
Director
VACANT
MDVOTERS System Administrator
Stacy Johnson
Deputy MDVOTERS System Administrator
Roger Stitt
Voter Registration Manager of Operations
Janet Smith
Voter Registration Manager of Data Integrity and Reports
Chere’ Evans
Database Specialist
Tarsha Jennings
MVA Voter Registration Specialists
Vincent Scott
Shipping and Receiving
Voting Systems
Paul Aumayr
Voting Systems Project Manager
Bob Murphy
Electronic Pollbook Project Manager
Andrew Johnson
Voting Systems Technical Support Specialist
Wow!
That many government slugs in one spot? No wonder we’re broke.
The signatures are being verified by the local election board and the rejection rate is about 10%. The average for this type of petition is 30%.
Melt the phones and fill the email. In short, cripple it.
I signed onto that petition. Actually it was a printed copy of the petition you had to fill it out, print it, then sign it and mail it in.
WTF is the ACLU crying about.
It has an authentic signature and mailing address on it and it is a paper copy.
Me too. Sent it in and got some neighbors to sign too.
What is the URL for that site, I am in MD ...
You can also call the sponsoring delegates’ offices. They’ll send you a form to be sent in. We did and got several friends to sign also. Heck...I bet they end with 500,000 signed forms. Non-idiots want this resident-tuition-crap to be reversed.
If the ACLU gets the petitions tossed, I will PERSONALLY demand that they go to the MD Court of Appeals to have the Wine Referendum overturned.
If you remember, MD voters approved the private importation of wine [by the case] during the last election. Prior to that, you had to order through a local distributer at a higher price.
The Wine Referendum was put on the ballot by on-line petition.
Lets see what the “Whine and Cheese” liberals think, if they lose the right to get their vino at a lower price ...
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