Massachusetts Voters May Get Last Word on Licenses for Undocumented Immigrants

The Massachusetts Legislature has had the final phrase in a showdown with Governor Charlie Baker over granting driver’s licenses to unlawful immigrants, however the voters have not been heard from – at the very least not but – and so they might have the ultimate say.

It is not over but.

The Massachusetts Home voted 119-36 to override Baker’s veto of a licensing invoice. The Senate adopted go well with on a 32-8 vote. Nevertheless, Republican gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl and his operating mate, Lt. Governor candidate Republican Leah Cole Allen, have indicated they’d again a transfer to place the matter earlier than the voters in a referendum query.

Neither Diehl nor Cole have clarified if they’d launch such an effort or help one if another person have been to take action.

The State Home Information Service reported it’s potential a referendum on the license situation might make it to the November poll this 12 months: “State regulation permits petitioners to carry forth a referendum to strike a newly enacted regulation in the event that they gather, on this case, 40,120 signatures from Massachusetts voters, of which not more than 10,030 might come from one county inside 90 days after its passage.”

The deadline to submit signatures to native election officers for certification could be August 24 and September 7 to the Secretary of State’s workplace. In any other case, it might be 2024 on the earliest that the query might go to the voters.

Polling on the difficulty has indicated a reasonably even break up, with many expressing considerations that issuing a driver’s license might result in some immigrants illegally registering to vote.