On October 24, the highest state court in Maryland, which is called the Court of Appeals, decided to hear Maryland State Board of Elections v Libertarian Party of Maryland, et al, no. 2011-277. The Libertarian and Green Parties had won this case at the trial court level. The state had then appealed to the mid-level court, but now the highest court will hear the case, so that there will be no proceedings in the mid-level court.

The issue is whether petition signatures are valid when the signer can be identified as a registered voter, but there is some slight difference between how the voter put his or her name and address on the petition, versus how it appears on the voter registration records. Another issue is whether, when a voter signs the petition twice, whether both signatures should be invalidated, or whether one of the signatures counts. The Maryland Court of Appeals, in the recent past, has been an excellent court for ballot access. Thanks to Doug McNeil for this news.