As noted earlier, on August 26, the Maryland State Board of Elections conceded that a 2015 law requiring independent candidates to file a declaration of candidacy in February is unconstitutional. The concession had come after an independent candidate for Baltimore city council, Dan Sparaco, had sued to overturn the requirement. That case was Sparaco v Lamone, 1:16cv-1579.

However, on August 25, two other candidates for Baltimore city council in the same district had sued the State Board of Elections to protest the Board’s concession in the Sparaco lawsuit. That new lawsuit was Schlakman v Maryland State Board of Elections, 1:16cv-2968.

But, on September 20, the Judge who was handling both cases dismissed the Schlakman lawsuit, so that the good precedent established by the Sparaco lawsuit will stand.