Case: Ivey v. Lamone

During the November 2020 election, an individual (the plaintiff in this case) wanted to become an independent candidate for Maryland’s Seventh Congressional District on the November 2020 general election ballot. However, COVID-19 restrictions and communication issues from the Maryland Board of Elections provided some obstacles to her goal. 

To become a candidate, the plaintiff needed to get signatures from 1% of the total number of registered and eligible voters (voters that can vote for the position that the nomination is seeking to fulfill). The form provided and approved by the Maryland Board of Elections (SBE) was a PDF not able to be filled or edited.

The plaintiff tried communication with SBE to solve this issue. The defendant was the State Administer of Elections in the SBE. The SBE was slow to communicate, sometimes not responding at all. 

The plaintiff found that another party seeking nomination was using a different form to collect signatures. This form was an electronic PDF that was fillable and preferable to the plaintiff. The plaintiff asked SBE if they could use this form on June 2, 2020. After no response, The plaintiff set up a fillable PDF form. Then, on June 10, the SBE responded that this format would likely be unacceptable.

In addition to these communication barriers, there were COVID-19 barriers to get signatures from eligible voters. These barriers include Maryland Governor Hogan's orders to close non-essential businesses and large group gatherings.

When businesses started to open up and gatherings were partly allowed, the plaintiff was able to get a few signatures on the previously approved form through canvasing, but not nearly as many as she would have without any COVID-19 restrictions in place, or had the alternative PDF form been approved.

The plaintiff filed her complaint on July 7, 2020 in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Judge Richard D. Bennett heard the case. This complaint claimed that the signature requirement violated her rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. She challenged the 1% signature requirement by requesting injunctive relief for the 0.5% requirement (granted to the Green and Libertarian parties) under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. She also requested a signature deadline extension. 

The parties agreed to settle through a joint motion for consent judgment on July 20, 2020. 

The same day, the court granted in part and denied in part this settlement. The court granted for the plaintiff and against the defendant that the signatures requirement for candidates seeking nomination by petition in Maryland was reduced by 50% to less than 5,000 registered voters, 0.5% of total eligible voters, or at least 125 signatures from eligible voters. The court denied other relief sought by the plaintiff. The court then ordered the state of Maryland to cover the plaintiff's attorneys' fees. 2020 WL 4197044.

This case has no further proceedings as of September 26, 2022. Thus, the state of Maryland was presumably able to pay the attorneys' fees and the case is likely closed through settlement.