Md. State Elections Board Certifies Petitions To Put Marriage Law To State Voters

Maryland’s elections board has certified a petition to put the state’s new marriage equality law on the November ballot.

The Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday that the Maryland Marriage Alliance, which opposes the law, submitted more than 162,000 signatures to repeal it. The Maryland Board of Elections stopped verifying after confirming more than 109,000 signatures.

Opponents needed 55,736 signatures to put the issue on the ballot.

Board official Donna Duncan told The Sun that officials have “determined that the petitions satisfied the legal requirements.”

Advocates and opponents now will have to create ballot committees and track donations and expenses.

NAACP Chairman Julian Bond issued a statement Tuesday supporting the rights of same-sex couples to marry and said Marylanders will be “casting a vote on the law — not on their faith.”