BOSTON — The state Elections Division has ruled the Nov. 8 ballot will include a question asking voters if they want to overturn the new immigrant license law.
The referendum cleared the threshold by almost double and if it succeeds, it will be a knock against the state Legislature as well, critics say.
“It just shows how out of touch the Democratic Legislature is with the will of the people,” MassGOP chair Jim Lyons said after Friday’s announcement. “We will absolutely win. A poll had us winning 51% to 37%.”
The Elections Division, within the Secretary of State’s Office, said 71,883 signatures were submitted and allowed.
“The Elections Division has certified that a referendum question on ‘An Act Relative to Work & Family Mobility’ will appear as Question #4 on the November State Election ballot,” the office tweeted, adding “40,120 signatures were required for certification.”
In May, Gov. Charlie Baker refused to sign the bill, which would allow illegal immigrants to use identification issued by their home country to establish their identity for the purpose of getting a driver’s license.
Baker said that because the registry is not equipped to verify those documents, a Massachusetts license will lose its validity as a form of identification.
The Legislature passed the law over the governor’s veto.
Advocates in favor of the law — including some police groups — have said that will make the roads safer by allowing those who must drive to do so legally and with insurance coverage.
Kelley Wooding said she was one of the original signers of the petition to let voters have the last say. She told the Herald last month that her desire to see the question on the November ballot has nothing to do with racism — relatives of hers were killed by the Nazi regime, she said — and isn’t an anti-immigrant stance, but is a matter of safety.
“Accidents go up by 20% after these laws are passed in other states,” she said. “I’m all for legal immigration, but there is a process.”
