2012 Maryland Question 4

Question 4 is a referendum that appeared on the general election ballot for the U.S. state of Maryland to allow voters to approve or reject the Maryland Dream Act, a state law that allowed undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates at Maryland colleges and universities. The referendum was approved by 58.9% of the voters on November 6, 2012.

Referendum Question 4

November 6, 2012
Public Institutions of Higher Education – Tuition Rates
Results
Choice Votes  % Yes 1,521,579 58.87% No 1,063,228 41.13% Valid votes 2,584,807 100.00% Invalid or blank votes 0 0.00% Total votes 2,584,807 100.00%
County results Congressional district results Precinct results Yes   90–100%   80–90%   70–80%   60–70%   50–60% No   70–80%   60–70%   50–60%
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections - Official Results

The Maryland Dream Act, along with the Civil Marriage Protection Act, were the first bills to be petitioned to a statewide referendum since 1992.^[1] In passing the bill, Maryland became the first state to approve legislation expanding in-state tuition to undocumented immigrant students via popular vote.^[2]

Ballot measure

The ballot measure read as follows:^[3]

Question 4
Public Institutions of Higher Education - Tuition Rates

Establishes that individuals, including undocumented immigrants, are eligible to pay in-state tuition rates at community colleges in Maryland, provided the student meets certain conditions relating to attendance and graduation from a Maryland high school, filing of income taxes, intent to apply for permanent residency, and registration with the selective service system (if required); makes such students eligible to pay in-state tuition rates at a four-year public college or university if the student has first completed 60 credit hours or graduated from a community college in Maryland; provides that students qualifying for in-state tuition rates by this method will not be counted as in-state students for purposes of counting undergraduate enrollment; and extends the time in which honorably discharged veterans may qualify for in-state tuition rates.

The choices read as follows:^[3]

For the Referred Law
Against the Referred Law

Maryland Dream Act

Upon his election to the Maryland Senate in 2010, Victor R. Ramirez drafted legislation^[4] that would extend in-state tuition to undocumented students who attend a Maryland high school for at least three years and whose parents have paid state taxes.^[5] An amendment requiring students to also attend two years of community college was added to the bill during a committee hearing in the Maryland Senate.^[6] Another amendment that waived the tax requirement if the student's parents can prove they were unable to work during their child's high school years was added to the bill in the House of Delegates, but removed by the conference committee.^[7] The bill was introduced amid a rise in anti-illegal immigrant sentiment in the United States, during which legislatures in a number of states passed legislation barring undocumented students from receiving in-state tuition.^[8]

The Maryland Senate voted 27–20 to pass the Dream Act on March 14, 2011,^[9] and the Maryland House of Delegates voted 74–66 to pass the bill on April 4, 2011.^[10] Along with all Republican state legislators, eight Democratic state senators and 24 Democratic state delegates voted against the bill.^[9][10] Governor Martin O'Malley signed the Maryland Dream Act into law on May 10, 2011.^[11]

Campaign

Within days of the Dream Act passing the Maryland General Assembly, state delegates Neil Parrott and Pat McDonough organized efforts to repeal the law through referendum. Parrott utilized his website, MDPetitions.com, to organize citizen activists to gather signatures for the ballot initiative.^[12] The group submitted 108,923 signatures to the Maryland State Board of Elections,^[13] which were certified by the elections board in July.^[14] In August 2011, CASA de Maryland filed a lawsuit challenging the validity of the signatures collected by MDPetitions.com,^[15][16] which was rejected by Anne Arundel County circuit court judge Ronald A. Silkworth in February 2012.^[17] CASA appealed Silkworth's ruling to the Maryland Court of Appeals,^[18] which upheld the lower court ruling.^[19]

Maryland Dream Act supporters rally in Silver Spring, August 2012

Opponents of the Maryland Dream Act focused their criticism on the bill's costs—which the nonpartisan Maryland Department of Legislative Services estimated to be around $3.5 million a year when fully implemented—claiming that the bill would encourage illegal immigration to Maryland and increase enrollments at state universities. The bill's supporters argued that the bill would increase graduation rates among high school dropouts and students who would not otherwise be able to attend universities,^[20] and that the state's colleges would only see around a thousand new students as a result of the bill.^[21] In October 2012, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County published a report suggesting that the Maryland Dream Act would reduce the state's college graduate incarceration rate and provide undocumented students with access to higher-paying jobs, saving the state $5 million per graduating class.^[20] Dream Act opponents pointed out that this report also claimed that state universities would lose $1.8 million (about a 0.1 percent drop)^[22] from accepting undocumented students, which would require legislators to increase taxes to make up for the lost revenue,^[23] and argued that employers would be hesitant to hire undocumented immigrants to higher-paying positions.^[20]

Question 4 was supported by Educating Maryland Kids, a coalition made up of immigrant rights groups, the Maryland Catholic Conference, and teacher unions;^[24] by October 2012, supporters raised $1.5 million to support campaigning efforts.^[25] Opponents of the Maryland Dream Act did not do any fundraising, as Parrott said it was not his group's plan to do so.^[25] The bill's opponents barely campaigned against the measure, coordinating their efforts through Facebook and e-mail to distribute yard signs and bumper stickers.^[26]

Endorsements

Yes

U.S. Senators

• Ben Cardin, Maryland (2007–present) (Democrat)^[27]

U.S. Representatives

• Elijah Cummings, MD-07 (1996–present) (Democrat)^[28]
• Steny Hoyer, House Minority Whip (2011–present) from MD-05 (1981–present) (Democrat)^[29]
• Chris Van Hollen, MD-08 (2003–present) (Democrat)^[30]

Statewide officials

• Anthony Brown, Lieutenant Governor of Maryland (2007–present) (Democrat)^[31]
• Doug Gansler, Attorney General of Maryland (2007–present) (Democrat)^[32]
• Martin O'Malley, 61st Governor of Maryland (2007–present) (Democrat)^[33]

State legislators

• Aisha Braveboy, state delegate from the 25th district (2007–present) (Democrat)^[34]
• Bill Ferguson, state senator from the 46th district (2011–present) (Democrat)^[35]
• Heather Mizeur, state delegate from the 20th district (2007–present) (Democrat)^[36]
• Paul G. Pinsky, state senator from the 22nd district (1994–present) (Democrat)^[37]
• Victor R. Ramirez, state senator from the 47th district (2011–present) (Democrat)^[27]

County officials

• Angela Alsobrooks, Prince George's County state's attorney (2010–present) (Democrat)^[27]
• Rushern Baker, Prince George's County Executive (2010–present) (Democrat)^[27]
• Ike Leggett, Montgomery County Executive (2006–present) (Democrat)^[38]

Individuals

• Mariann Budde, bishop of the Diocese of Washington^[39]
• Zeke Cohen, teacher (Democrat)^[35]
• Charlene Dukes, president of Prince George's Community College (2007–present) (Democrat)^[21]
• Freeman A. Hrabowski III, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (1992–present)^[20]
• Ben Jealous, president of the NAACP (2008–present) (Democrat)^[40]
• William Kirwan, chancellor of the University System of Maryland (2002–present)^[41]
• Wallace Loh, president of the University of Maryland, College Park (2010–present)^[27]
• William E. Lori, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore^[42]
• Denis J. Madden, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore^[42]
• Javier Miyares, president of University of Maryland Global Campus (2012–present)^[43]
• Rob Sobhani, author and lecturer (Independent)^[44]
• Eugene Sutton, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland^[42]

Labor unions

• AFL-CIO^[24]
• American Federation of Teachers^[24]
• Maryland State Education Association^[24]
• Service Employees International Union^[45]

Organizations

• CASA de Maryland^[24]
• NAACP^[24]

Newspapers

• Baltimore Afro-American^[46]
• The Washington Post^[47]

No

Statewide officials

• Kris Kobach, Kansas Secretary of State (2011–present) (Republican)^[48]

State legislators

• Kathy Afzali, state delegate from the 4th district (2011–present) (Republican)^[20]
• James Brochin, state senator from the 42nd district (2003–present) (Democrat)^[49]
• Nancy Jacobs, state senator form the 34th district (1999–present) (Republican)^[50]
• Jay Jacobs, state delegate from the 36th district (2011–present) (Republican)^[51]
• Nic Kipke, state delegate from the 31st district (2007–present) (Republican)^[52]
• Susan Krebs, state delegate from district 9B (2003–present) (Republican)^[53]
• Pat McDonough, state delegate from the 7th district (2003–present) (Republican)^[52]
• Tony O'Donnell, minority leader of the Maryland House of Delegates (2007–present) from district 29C (1995–present) (Republican)^[29]
• Neil Parrott, state delegate from district 2B (2011–present) (Republican)^[52]
• Justin Ready, state delegate from the 5th district (2011–present) (Republican)^[53]
• Edward R. Reilly, state senator from the 33rd district (2009–present) (Republican)^[54]
• Steve Schuh, state delegate from the 31st district (2007–present) (Republican)^[52]
• Michael D. Smigiel Sr., state delegate from the 36th district (2003–present) (Republican)^[23]

County officials

• Haven Shoemaker, member of the Carroll County Board of Commissioners from the 2nd district (2010–present) (Republican)^[55]

Individuals

• Ann Corcoran, anti-refugee activist and blogger^[56]

Organizations

• Judicial Watch^[57]

Opinion polls

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	For	Against	Undecided
OpinionWorks[58]	October 20–23, 2012	801 (LV)	± 3.5%	47%	45%	8%
The Washington Post[59]	October 11–15, 2012	843 (LV)	± 4.0%	60%	35%	5%
		934 (RV)		59%	35%	5%
OpinionWorks[60]	September 25–27, 2012	804 (LV)	± 3.5%	44%	41%	15%
Gonzales Research[61]	September 17–23, 2012	813 (RV)	± 3.5%	58%	34%	8%
Gonzales Research[62]	September 19–27, 2011	805 (RV)	± 3.5%	47%	51%	3%

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear

Results

Question 4 passed handily in many of Maryland's suburban and urban counties, but saw its weakest support in non-Hispanic white neighborhoods in more rural areas of the state.^[63]

2012 Maryland Question 4

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	1,521,579	58.87
No	1,063,228	41.13
Total votes	2,584,807	100.00

By county

By county

Breakdown of voting by county[64] County Yes No Margin TotalVotes # % # % # % Allegany 11,009 34.2% 16,631 65.8% -5,622 -20.3% 27,640 Anne Arundel 124,741 49.6% 126,632 50.4% -1,891 -0.8% 251,373 Baltimore City 168,279 70.6% 70,137 29.4% 98,142 41.2% 238,416 Baltimore 196,470 52.9% 175,064 47.1% 21,406 5.8% 371,534 Calvert 20,352 47.0% 22,983 53.0% -2,631 -6.1% 43,335 Caroline 5,122 40.2% 7,623 59.8% -2,501 -19.6% 12,745 Carroll 31,941 37.6% 53,102 62.4% -21,161 -24.9% 85,043 Cecil 17,478 43.1% 23,047 56.9% -5,569 -13.7% 40,525 Charles 43,451 59.9% 29,071 40.1% 14,380 19.8% 72,522 Dorchester 6,798 47.9% 7,402 52.1% -604 -4.3% 14,200 Frederick 55,805 49.7% 56,393 50.3% -588 -0.5% 112,198 Garrett 4,572 37.2% 7,708 62.8% -3,136 -25.5% 12,280 Harford 50,805 41.5% 71,678 58.5% -20,873 -17.0% 122,483 Howard 90,566 61.1% 57,726 38.9% 32,830 22.1% 148,282 Kent 4,652 49.6% 4,722 50.4% -70 -0.7% 9,374 Montgomery 313,681 72.3% 120,097 27.7% 193,584 44.6% 433,778 Prince George's 273,752 74.9% 91,588 25.1% 182,164 49.9% 365,340 Queen Anne's 9,730 40.4% 14,368 59.6% -4,638 -19.2% 24,098 St. Mary's 21,706 47.6% 23,868 52.4% -2,162 -4.7% 45,574 Somerset 5,125 53.7% 4,411 46.3% 714 7.5% 9,536 Talbot 9,369 47.7% 10,269 52.3% -900 -4.6% 19,638 Washington 23,524 39.6% 35,907 60.4% -12,383 -20.8% 59,431 Wicomico 20,478 51.8% 19,076 48.2% 1,402 3.5% 39,554 Worcester 12,183 47.0% 13,725 53.0% -1,542 -6.0% 25,908 Total 1,521,579 58.9% 1,063,228 41.1% 458,351 17.7% 2,584,807