Elkridge Election Guide

As we look ahead to November’s elections, Elkridge Patch is devoted to bringing you the information you need about every race nationally and locally. Here's our start on the candidates and issues we'll be covering as November draws near. Bookmark this page for updates.

Same-Sex Marriage: On March 1, Gov. Martin O’Malley signed into law a bill allowing same-sex couples to wed in Maryland. Despite celebrations from supporters,  turned in about twice the number of signatures they needed to send the law to referendum, so it will be on the ballot in November. 

Dream Act: The Dream Act would allow undocumented immigrant students to pay in-state tuition at institutions in the University System of Maryland if their parents filed to pay state taxes, if they attended a Maryland high school for at least three years and if they graduated. Passed by the General Assembly in 2011, opponents launched a from taking effect and landed it on the 2012 ballot as a voter referendum.

Congressional District 2
Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger: The incumbent Democrat was first elected to Congress in 2002 and has previously served two terms as the Baltimore county executive and two more on the Baltimore County Council. If re-elected, Ruppersberger would serve parts of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford and Howard counties, as well as Baltimore City.

Nancy Jacobs: The four-term Maryland Republican from Harford County currently represents Harford and Cecil counties and would not have to give up her seat on the state Senate unless she defeated Ruppersberger.

Congressional District 7
Rep. Elijah Cummings: The incumbent Democrat has served in the House since 1996 and in the House of Delegates for 14 years. If re-elected, he would serve parts of Baltimore City as well parts of Baltimore and Howard counties.

Frank Mirabile Jr.: The Republican from Catonsville describes himself as a small business owner and married father of four. He has also ran against Cummings in 2010 for a U.S. House seat.

Congressional District 3
Rep. John Sarbanes: The Towson resident is seeking a fourth term in Maryland’s 3rd congressional district. If re-elected, he will represent parts of Baltimore, Howard, Anne Arundel and Montgomery Counties as well as parts of Baltimore City in the newly reconfigured district. Sarbanes made headlines in May when he announced that would come from small donors. In 2010, he was re-elected with 61 percent of the district’s vote.

Eric Knowles: No one is predicting a close race in Maryland's Congressional 3rd District, but if someone is going to upset Democratic incumbent Rep. John Sarbanes, it's the Republican Knowles. The son of a former Green Beret and police officer, Knowles calls himself a strict constitutionalist who says the nation's economic problems can be solved if the government prints less money.

U.S. Senate
Sen. Ben Cardin: The incumbent Democrat is seeking a second term in the U.S. Senate. He has shared many of his views in .

Daniel Bongino: Cardin's Republican opponent is Daniel Bongino of Severna Park. He is a former Secret Service agent.

President
President Barack Obama: Maryland is a reliably Democratic state for presidential candidates, but is important nationally, as its residents are known for opening their pocketbooks to write political contribution checks to presidential candidates, according to the Baltimore Sun. Obama held a  and campaigned in Baltimore with Gov. Martin O'Malley. He  for a basketball game in November 2011.

GOP Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney: The former Massachusetts governor . Remember the Etch A Sketch comment? That came on the day . In explaining how the candidate would avoid being pushed too far to the right, spokesperson Eric Fehrnstrom, in a CNN interview, likened Romney's positions to an Etch A Sketch. "You can kind of shake it up, and we start all over again,” he said. Political opponents capitalized on the misstep. Nonetheless, Romney .

Need to find out where your polling place is? Whether or not you're registered to vote? Need to request an absentee ballot? Visit the Maryland State Board of Elections online for answers to those and a host of other election-related questions.