Petition leaders blocked access to validation process

The Maryland Board of Elections has refused petition leader Delegate Neil Parrott’s request to be able to have representation in the room during the signature validation process on petition signatures against the Dream Act, citing a memorandum from 2001 which directs all the local boards to conduct the process as a closed staff function, not subject to the Open Meetings Act, according to the SBE.

The petition signatures, once submitted, are separated by county and distributed to the local county boards to verify.

Delegate Smigiel, who has been working to safeguard the rights of the petitioners in this effort, had a few things to say about the refusal of the request. See full article here.