On April 27, the Maine Supreme Court refused the Secretary of State’s appeal in Birks v Dunlap, so the lower court opinion stands. The lower court had ruled that the Secretary of State was wrong to invalidate tens of thousands of signatures on the initiative to legalize marijuana. The issue was whether petition sheets should be invalidated because the Notary Public’s signature on the sheet doesn’t closely match the Notary’s signature on the Notary’s application to be a Notary.

The lower court said there are many reasons why an individual’s signature doesn’t always look the same. See this story.