New Weapon for Conservatives in Maryland: Web Widgets

Republicans and other opponents waged a powerful campaign to halt a new law giving undocumented immigrants rights to in-state tuition rates at public colleges in Maryland. It was an effort that by all rights was doomed to fail, according to The Washington Post.

But the petition by Del. Neil C. Parrott (R-Washington) and others succeeded in blocking the enactment of Maryland’s Dream Act, which had been set to take effect July 1.

The Maryland State Board of Elections has unofficially certified 63,118 petition signatures, forcing the issue to a vote during November's election.

The issue  in only two months.

According to Michael Laris of The Washington Post, a key component of the campaign’s success was due to MDpetitions.com, where people could click on a widget to fill in information required for the petition.

"This petition drive really sets new ground rules," Parrott told The Post.

More on how the system worked can be found here.