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Bill

SB 267

Relating to settlements.

2025 Regular Session

SB 267 tightens filing windows to form a new Maryland political party and prohibits reusing signatures from petitions previously deemed deficient.

In committee upon adjournment.
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · SB 267

SB 267 — Election Law: Petitions for the Formation of a New Political Party — Process

Status: Approved by the Governor (Chapter 283). Effective date: July 1, 2025.
Primary source amended: Annotated Code of Maryland, Election Law, §4‑102(c).

Purpose and intent

SB 267 changes when petitions to form a new State political party (and any additional signature submissions) may be filed in relation to major election cycles, and prevents reuse of signatures that were part of petitions officially determined to be legally deficient. The State Board of Elections requested the change to allow more time for petition verification before ballots and voter communications are finalized.

Key provisions

  • Changes the annual blackout period for filing petitions or additional signatures:
    • Moves the start of the filing prohibition from the first Monday in August to the first Monday in July for:
    • Presidential election years (the bill retains the existing rule that filings also may not occur during the period that voter registration is closed before and after the primary).
    • Gubernatorial election years (no filings after the first Monday in July until voter registration reopens after the general election).
    • Filing restrictions tied to special primary/special elections (timing measured in weeks before/after those events) remain unchanged.
  • Prohibits reuse of signatures: if the State Board of Elections (SBE) has officially determined that a petition “fails to meet” the statutory requirements (subsection (b) of §4‑102 or Title 6), the signatures submitted with that petition may not be resubmitted on a later petition.
  • Statutory amendment: modifies Article — Election Law §4‑102(c).

Who is affected

  • Groups and voters seeking to organize a new State political party (they face an earlier start to the filing blackout and cannot reuse invalidated signatures).
  • Maryland State Board of Elections and local boards of elections (gain a longer uninterrupted period to verify petitions and prepare ballots and voter materials).
  • Registered voters whose signatures may be collected for party-formation petitions (procedures for reuse of signatures are restricted).

Practical impact and timeline

  • Effective July 1, 2025: the new July 1 blackout start and the signature reuse prohibition take effect.
  • Administrative impact: SBE indicated the change provides additional time to verify petitions in advance of printing ballots and updating voter communications; fiscal notes show no material state or local fiscal impact.
  • For petition organizers: the permitted windows to gather and file qualifying signatures shrink in election years, and previously invalidated signature collections cannot be recycled for later petitions.

Background (context)

Under Maryland law a new State political party is formed by filing a petition (including organizational papers and required signatures — historically at least 10,000 qualified registered voters, with signature-age limits and verification rules). SB 267 preserves the overall petition process but tightens the timing rules and adds the anti‑reuse provision to reduce administrative burdens and potential confusion from reusing signatures from petitions already declared insufficient.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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