Vote On Licenses For Undocumented In MA: GOP Says It Has Signatures

MILFORD, MA — An effort to overturn a recent state law granting driver licenses to undocumented Massachusetts residents reached a key milestone Wednesday: The state Republican party-backed repeal campaign collected enough signatures to put a question on the November ballot.

The repeal effort led by the Fair And Secure Massachusetts committee has been collecting signatures this summer after state lawmakers in June passed the Work & Family Mobility Act following a Gov. Charlie Baker veto. The campaign gathered about 100,000 signatures by Wednesday's deadline against the minimum needed of about 40,000.

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.

Milford resident Maureen Maloney chaired the Fair And Secure Massachusetts committee, and said the campaign had collected 100,000 signatures despite "intimidation" from the decline-to-sign effort.

“Voters lined up to sign our petition, they voiced to us their reasons for opposing the law,” Maloney said in a news release. "These actions show how desperate Democrats are to keep voters from having their voices heard, and it was only through the dedication and efforts by all our volunteers that we will get this on the ballot in November."

Undocumented local resident Nicolas Dutan Guaman hit and killed Maloney's son, Matthew Denice, in 2011 and is serving a 12 to 14-year sentence in state prison. Maloney has been an outspoken opponent of rights for undocumented people ever since, including speaking at events with former president Donald Trump.

The effort to repeal the Work & Family Mobility Act may still face a challenge if it makes it to the ballot. A Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll released in late July found that about 58 percent of Massachusetts residents support allowing undocumented residents to apply for licenses.

The Work and Family Mobility act would allow undocumented residents to begin applying for licenses on July 1, 2023. Proponents say it will improve road safety because undocumented residents are already driving unlicensed with no training on motor vehicle laws.

Next up for the repeal effort: city and town clerks will certify signatures collected by the campaign, with delivery of the final count of signatures — which will likely be lower than 100,000 — to the Secretary of the Commonwealth by Sept. 7.