The time to act is now.  

(from Ann Miller, Baltimore County Republican Examiner, 6/4/11)

Every Marylander can help with the petition drive against the Dream Act

The petition to referendum against the Dream Act, being organized in a grassroots effort under Delegate Neil Parrott of Washington County, is truly a historic initiative in the state.

Petitions to referendum, which allow citizens to petition to have a bill put to a vote on the ballot, have historically low success rates in Maryland.  Very strict rules are stacked against the citizens.

But through a very effective website, voters are able to download the petition and mail it in, as well as get important information on the issue.  By downloading right from the website, the system pulls the voter’s information from Board of Elections data and fills the information right into the petition form.  All the voter must do is print it out, sign and date it, and mail it in.

The petition drive has been overwhelmingly successful in just the first six weeks of the  campaign.  On Tuesday, petition organizers blew away the May 31st deadline requirement of 18,500 signatures by submitting nearly 60,000 signatures collected statewide.

Baltimore County was far and away the top signature collecting jurisdiction, submitting 14,000 signatures, which represent 22% of the total submitted.

The success of the petition drive is due to the overwhelming opposition, across party and demographic lines, to benefits for illegal immigrants paid for by legal taxpaying citizens.  In addition, the combination of a viral campaign and boots on the ground by many dedicated volunteers has resulted in a favorable chance of validation of the petition.

The Board of Elections is in the verification process and is posting daily tallies online here.  Right now, the average validation rate is an unheard of 88%.  Typical petitions result in a 50-70% validation rate.  The current 88% validation rate may be due to the process, if BOE officials are validating the easy signatures first and moving into the more questionable entries later.

Any Marylander can help with this effort.  Detailed instructions on getting the petition form off the website and filling out the petition form correctly can be found here.

Please consider making a donation to the cause through the website here.  The next step will be fighting court battles, and then the extensive PR campaign that CASA de Maryland, the ACLU, and the Maryland Catholic Conference will launch to trick voters into voting for tax funded tuition for illegal immigrants.  If you can spare a small donation of even $10, it all will help.

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If you can spare a few hours to help with this effort (every bit helps), please e-mail Michelle Stanton at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Opportunities for collecting signatures at post offices, events, and the MVA are plentiful, but volunteers are needed.  Together we will get this bad bill to referendum!

[To register for the Lincoln Reagan dinner, please download and send us this registration form with your payment or register online if you prefer.] 

The Frederick County Republican Central Committee is thrilled to announce this year's Lincoln Reagan Dinner speakers - two freshmen Republican Congresswomen who gained national attention with their impressive victories over long time Democratic incumbents in the Republican tidal wave of 2010. 

Renee Ellmers is a Registered Nurse who, after attending a Town Hall meeting in 2009 with her husband on President Obama's health care plan, became an outspoken critic of government-run health care.  Bolstered by the tea party movement, she defeated 7-term Democratic incumbent Bob Etheridge in the Republican tidal wave of November 2010.  She represents North Carolina's 2nd Congressional district.

Vicky Hartzler was first elected to political office in November of 1994 as the State Representative from Missouri's 124th District, where she served three terms.  In 2004, she served as spokesperson for the Coalition to Protect Marriage, a state constitutional amendment which passed resoundingly and led to Missouri recognizing traditional marriage as a union of a man and a woman.  In November 2010, she ran for the House of Representatives on a conservative platform and defeated 17-term Democratic incumbent Ike Skelton.  She represents Missouri's 4th Congressional district. 

The Frederick County Republican Central Committee is organizing a vigorous voter registration campaign in our county. We are asking everyone who believes they will have even a few hours of time to donate to this effort to make every attempt to attend our voter registration training and certification with representatives from the Board of Elections on the evening of Monday, April 18th from 7 pm - 8:30 pm at the 3rd floor conference room on 50 Citizens Way in Frederick. Register here.