Senate President Mike Miller told reporters Wednesday that new standards making it more difficult to petition new laws to the ballot are not likely to pass this year, though he agrees that the practice needs to be curtailed.
Read MoreThe chairman of the election law subcommittee handling controversial changes to the referendum and petition process said Tuesday that the bill isn’t dead, despite the fact that it awaits action by the subcommittee and would need numerous amendments to make it palatable to stakeholders. But with just 13 days left in the 90-day session, Election Law Subcommittee Chairman Jon Cardin, D-Baltimore County, conceded, “The chances of it moving have decreased.”
Read MoreThe Referendum Integrity Act, a bill that’s been lambasted as voter suppression, contains numerous clauses that could potentially disqualify thousands of online petition signature pages before they are even signed. But the chairman of the subcommittee in charge of HB493, Del. Jon Cardin, who is also a co-sponsor, says his goal in reforming petition legislation is not to make the process more difficult.
Read MoreA bill changing the state’s petition process could make it harder for voters to bring controversial laws to referendum. The Referendum Integrity Act will be among numerous bills debated in Annapolis Thursday that could fundamentally change state election law.
Read MoreRepublican lawmakers presented a bill to block public access to petitions in order to prevent intimidation and personal attacks on Thursday.
Read MoreBills to add transparency and checks and balances to signatures on referendum petitions were scrutinized by the House Ways and Means Committee, but seemed to receive lukewarm support on Wednesday.
Read MoreMembers of the General Assembly who spearheaded a petition drive to bring a law granting in-state tuition to some illegal immigrants have proposed legislation for the coming session to solve some of the problems they encountered while trying to get the referendum on the ballot.
Read MoreTeenagers may soon be able to register to vote as soon as they can get their driver’s licenses, under a proposal passed by the House Monday.
The bill would allow all 16-year-old residents to register to vote. Although they still would not be able to vote in an election until they turn 18, they would be able to sign petitions for referendums and potential candidates, a point of contention among Republicans.
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