Maryland Election Law Section 6-206
§ 6-206.
(a) Promptly upon the filing of a petition with an election authority, the chief election official of the election authority shall review the petition.
(b) Unless a determination of deficiency is made under subsection (c) of this section, the chief election official shall:
(1) make a determination that the petition, as to matters other than the validity of signatures, is sufficient; or
(2) defer a determination of sufficiency pending further review.
(c) The chief election official shall declare that the petition is deficient if the chief election official determines that:
(1) the petition was not timely filed;
(2) after providing the sponsor an opportunity to correct any clerical errors, the information provided by the sponsor indicates that the petition does not satisfy any requirements of law for the number or geographic distribution of signatures;
(3) an examination of unverified signatures indicates that the petition does not satisfy any requirements of law for the number or geographic distribution of signatures;
(4) the requirements relating to the form of the petition have not been satisfied;
(5) based on the advice of the legal authority:
(i) the use of a petition for the subject matter of the petition is not authorized by law; or
(ii) the petition seeks:
1. the enactment of a law that would be unconstitutional or the election or nomination of an individual to an office for which that individual is not legally qualified to be a candidate; or
2. a result that is otherwise prohibited by law; or
(6) the petition has failed to satisfy some other requirement established by law.
(d) A determination under this section may not be inconsistent with an advance determination made under § 6-202 of this subtitle.
(e) Notice of a determination under this section shall be provided in accordance with § 6-210 of this subtitle.
