Harford voters big part of a historic petition drive

The petition to keep undocumented immigrants from getting in-state college tuition discounts in Maryland seems unstoppable on its path to a referendum, and Harford County was a major part of that effort.

John Paff, vice-president of legislative affairs for the Route 40 Republican Club, said local organizers ultimately collected 15,028 signatures in Harford, of which 13,000 have been validated so far.

The county ranked third in the state for both the number of signatures collected and the percentage of registered voters who signed the petition, Paff said Tuesday.

"We were definitely one of the most active counties," he said, adding that about 55 percent of those signing were Republican, 35 percent were Democrat and 10 percent were independent.

"Everything remained positive through the end," Paff said. "We found that it was a pretty nonpartisan issue across the board, all the way to the finish line."

The Maryland Board of Elections has validated more than 108,000 signatures statewide so far, he said, which is well over the 55,736 needed to force a statewide referendum on the tuition law, which passed in the 2011 session of theMaryland General Assembly.

The board is expected to finish counting by July 23 and then send out an official letter saying whether the law is going to referendum.

At this point, "it would be pretty miraculous for it not to," Paff said about the petition's chances.

"I believe the ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union] was, of course, planning on suing to challenge the online portion of the drive," he said. "We went so far above our [required] number that we believe they are not going to sue us now."

Paff said the online petition was an important part of the project's success, though not necessarily its main driver.

About 30 percent of signatures were made online, he said.

"Between the website and social media, it really allowed us to get the word out quickly," he said, noting that petition organizers in the past have struggled to collect enough signatures in the short time period of two months allowed.

"The website and social media really made a difference with this one," he reiterated.

Now that the election board is counting signatures, Paff said he and other organizers are mostly sitting back and catching their collective breath before preparing to go on a voter education effort to get the tuition law overturned.

"Right now I think everyone is just recovering from all the work," he said. "It's just kind of sit-and-wait, and seeing if ACLU and [immigration support organization] CASA de Maryland decide to sue."