Ever since 1982, Maryland has required independent candidates to file their petitions in early August of election years. But in 2015, an amendment was made to Maryland election law that, in the eyes of some, forced independent candidates to file a declaration of candidacy in February of the election year. February is when candidates seeking to run in a party nominating process must file a declaration of candidacy.

On February 1, 2017, the Maryland State Court of Appeals, the highest state court, ruled that the law does not require independent candidates to file anything until August of the election year. Lamone v Schlakman, 2016-50. The state board of elections had taken this position and did not believe an early declaration is needed. But when the Board allowed an independent candidate, Dan Sparaco, to qualify for Baltimore city council in 2016, even though Sparaco had not filed a declaration of candidacy in February 2016, one of the other candidates for the same seat had filed a challenge. The lower state court had removed Sparaco from the ballot, but the State Court of Appeals had put him back on, and had said it would explain its reasoning later. The February 1, 2017 decision now settles the issue.

If the state law did require independent candidates to file a declaration of candidacy in February, such a law would almost certainly have been held unconstitutional. Maryland is in the Fourth Circuit, and the Fourth Circuit in 1990 struck down a similar South Carolina law.