Maryland Supreme Court disqualifies candidate from ballot

The Supreme Court of Maryland has upheld a lower court ruling that prevents Tonya Sweat, an unaffiliated candidate, from appearing on the November 2026 general election ballot for Prince George’s County executive.

Sweat had submitted 6,743 signatures to qualify for the ballot, but the Prince George’s County Board of Elections determined that 1,316 of those signatures were invalid. This left her with 5,427 valid signatures, falling short of the 6,531 required by law. Sweat challenged the rejection in the Prince George’s County Circuit Court, but the court found insufficient evidence to prove the Board of Elections had improperly rejected the signatures. Upon appeal, the Supreme Court of Maryland affirmed the decision, stating the lower court did not abuse its discretion.