On February 3, the Fourth Circuit upheld Maryland’s law on how a party remains on the ballot. Johnston v Lamone, 19-1783. The Libertarian Party argued that there is no state interest in requiring it to submit 10,000 signatures to get back on the ballot, given that it had approximately 22,000 registered members when the lawsuit was filed shortly after the November 2018 election. The court avoided this subject, and merely said that it is constitutional to require a higher standard for parties to remain on the ballot, than to get on in the first place.

The opinion will not be published, and therefore sets no precedent.

On the other issue, whether it is unconstitutional to require petition signers to list their name exactly as registered, the decision says that issue is not yet ripe, and that if it is a problem exists with petition validity after the Libertarian Party submits its 2020 party petition, then a new lawsuit could be filed.