License Law Survives Repeal Effort

With 91% Reporting, 54% of Voters Opt to Uphold Law

Massachusetts voters support upholding a law to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver’s license in the state and the Associated Press declared around noon Wednesday that the “yes” side will win Question 4.

With 91 percent reporting Wednesday afternoon, 54 percent of voters opted to uphold the law that will go into effect next July to allow Massachusetts residents who cannot provide proof of lawful presence in the U.S. to obtain a standard driver’s license or learner’s permit, if they meet all other qualifications.

“The passage of this law made history, and voters in Massachusetts have just made it again,” 32BJ SEIU Executive Vice-President Roxana Rivera and Brazilian Worker Center Executive Director Lenita Reason, co-chairs of the Yes On 4 for Safer Roads campaign, said. “Our Commonwealth will now have safer roads, and our immigrant families will safely be able to drive to work, drop their kids off at school, and go to medical appointments. We built a strong and diverse coalition that fought back against division and drove Massachusetts forward.”

A coalition of 270 elected officials, immigrant rights organizations, law enforcement officials, organized labor and community groups and local businesses formed the “Yes on 4” campaign to defend the law against a repeal effort backed by the Republican Party.

Question 4 came about as a grassroots effort of those opposed to the law to repeal it via this fall’s ballot after the law was passed over a gubernatorial veto.

The “yes” vote now allows the law to proceed to full implementation starting on July 1 next year.

“Massachusetts voters have reaffirmed our Commonwealth as a welcoming place that defends dignity and equity for all by voting Yes on 4,” said Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. “Tonight, we sent a message to the entire country: At a time when fundamental freedoms are being threatened nationally, we absolutely must preserve the protections we have secured at the state level.”