Ballot Question On Licenses For Undocumented In MA Certified By State

MASSACHUSETTS — Massachusetts voters on Election Day will get to vote on a new state law granting licenses to undocumented people.

State election officials Friday certified that the Fair and Secure Massachusetts campaign collected enough signatures to get a question on the November ballot. Out of about 100,000 signatures collected by the campaign, just under 72,000 were found to be valid. The campaign only needed to collect about 40,000 signatures to get on the ballot.

Earlier this summer, state lawmakers passed the Work and Family Mobility act, which would allow undocumented residents to begin applying for licenses on July 1, 2023. Proponents of the new law say it will improve road safety because undocumented residents are already driving unlicensed with no training on motor vehicle laws.

Shortly after the law passed, the state Republican party formed a committee to gather signatures to overturn the law. Maureen Maloney, a Milford resident whose son was hit and killed by an unlicensed and undocumented driver in 2011, chaired the Fair And Secure Massachusetts committee.

The question — No. 4 on the November ballot — will be worded so opponents will vote "no" to overturn the law.

State Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Sudbury, and other local elected officials mounted a "Decline to Sign" campaign to deter voters from giving their signatures to the repeal effort. The state GOP sued Eldridge and other members of the movement, alleging they had interfered with signature-gathering efforts.