On July 21, the Maryland State Board of Elections filed a notice of appeal in Libertarian Party of Maryland v Maryland State Board of Elections, the lawsuit in which the lower court ruled that if election officials can identify any signature on a petition as the signature of a registered voter, then the signature is valid. The lower state court had also put the Libertarian and Green Parties on the 2012 and 2014 ballots.

The Board of Elections did not ask any court to stay the lower court decision, fortunately. Also the Board of Elections has continued to treat the two political parties as ballot-qualified, and recognizes that they do have registered members. It is likely that the State Court of Appeals (the state’s highest court) will agree with the lower court, because the State Court of Appeals several months ago ruled that signatures on petitions are valid even if the handwritten signature is illegible. Thanks to Bob Johnston for this news.