LWVMA  Position Statement on Immigration

Adopted at the June 2019 LWVMA State Convention.  This is a concurrence of the LWV Illinois position on immigration.

• The Commonwealth of Massachusetts should promote local community efforts to provide orientation and counseling services for immigrants regardless of documentation status, and support funding efforts for these services by encouraging federal funding and by the use of funds from the state and local governments as well as from the private sector.
•  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts should promote and fund educational programs and materials that seek to inform all workers, including documented and undocumented immigrants, of their rights in the workplace. 
• The Commonwealth of Massachusetts should provide "driving certificates" or some other form of proof of driving validation to undocumented drivers, allowing those drivers to drive legally and ensuring that they would have passed a state driving test. The Commonwealth should permit and encourage auto insurance providers to issue insurance coverage to holders of such driving certificates.
• LWVMA opposes the deputization of state and local police to enforce immigration laws in Massachusetts.
• LWVMA opposes legislation or ordinances at the state and local level that would penalize landlords for renting to undocumented immigrants.
• LWVMA opposes legislation or ordinances at the state and local level that would prohibit the issuance of business permits to undocumented immigrants.  

Position on The Initiative and Referendum Process in Massachusetts

LWVMA studied the process for statewide citizen-initiated ballot questions in 2018-2019. 36 local Leagues held consensus meetings in connection with this study.  The membership approved this position at the LWVMA Convention on June 8, 2019.

The League confirmed that it supports having a mechanism for three types of initiative petitions that may lead to statewide ballot questions: initiative for a law, initiative for a constitutional amendment, and referendum on an existing law.

The League supports:

• Petition summaries that are written for the greatest understanding by voters.
• Providing more extensive voter information on the fiscal impact of ballot questions in the “Information for Voters” provided by the Secretary of the Commonwealth and through other channels of communication.
• Voter information in the “Information for Voters” provided by the Secretary of the Commonwealth that includes arguments in favor and against prepared by an unbiased independent source such as a citizen group appointed for that purpose, in addition to those prepared by the proponents and opponents.
• A periodic review and update by the Secretary of the Commonwealth of the means of disseminating and publicizing information for voters.
• Modifying the signature-gathering requirement that “not more than one-fourth of the certified signatures on any petition shall be those of registered voters of any one county.”  The League supports a system that provides geographic dispersion of signatures but represents population distribution equitably.  Such a system could be based, for example, on geographic regions of similar population such as Congressional or legislative districts.
• Including in the signature count every identifiable and unique signature on the petition.
• The Secretary of the Commonwealth providing training opportunities for signature collectors.
• The current requirement for votes in two joint sessions held by two successively elected Legislatures for an initiative for a Constitutional Amendment.
• Limiting the amount of money spent on ballot question campaigns.
• Ensuring that accurate information on campaign donations and expenditures for ballot question committees be available to the public prior to the election.

The League opposes:

• Limiting the length of the full text of a proposed law.
• A second round of signatures after the legislature has time to act on an initiative for a law.