Signatures verified; Fremont (Ne) may get to vote on illegal immigrant plan

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10594770

Published Wednesday March 25, 2009
Signatures verified; Fremont may get to vote on illegal immigrant plan

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — Voters in Fremont might get the chance to vote on a contentious proposal seeking to curb illegal immigration, now that a county official has verified some 3,300 petition signatures.

A letter from Dodge County Clerk Fred Mytty released Wednesday says he has verified 3,343 of the more than 4,100 signatures turned in. Only 3,100 valid signatures were needed to force a special election on the measure.

If approved by voters, the measure would bar anyone in Fremont from hiring or renting to illegal immigrants.

City leaders have asked a judge to rule that Fremont lacks the authority to enact such a proposal, in part because federal law would pre-empt a city ordinance.

The council voted down a similar ordinance last summer.