The Tuberville residency appeal filed Tuesday asks the Alabama Supreme Court to reverse the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s eligibility for governor.
Attorney Barry Ragsdale filed the appeal on behalf of plaintiffs Brooke Lynn Dorgan and Justin Jude LeBlanc after Montgomery County Circuit Judge Brooke Reid dismissed the case last week.
The lawsuit argues that Tuberville is constitutionally ineligible to serve as governor because he does not meet Alabama’s requirement that a candidate be a resident citizen of the state for seven years before the election.
Reid dismissed the lawsuit Thursday, ruling that the court lacked jurisdiction over the plaintiffs’ sole quo warranto claim.
The judge did not decide whether Tuberville satisfies the residency requirement.
Reid found that quo warranto generally applies to someone unlawfully holding or exercising a public office. Tuberville is currently the certified Republican nominee for governor, and the ruling said existing Alabama case law does not establish that a party nominee holds public office for purposes of the statute.
The ruling also said courts could potentially consider a nominee’s constitutional eligibility if the issue were raised through the proper legal mechanism.
The Alabama Republican Party previously held a post-primary hearing on the same residency challenge and unanimously ruled that Tuberville met the constitutional requirements. The party later certified him as its nominee.
Ragsdale has also predicted that several members of the Alabama Supreme Court could recuse themselves because of political ties to Tuberville.
He previously said the case should be heard by a special court composed of retired judges and justices if a majority of the sitting court steps aside.
Tuberville maintained Monday that he is eligible to serve as governor.
“I’m 110% qualified to run,” Tuberville told reporters. “I wouldn’t give up a Senate seat to do this if I wasn’t.”
Tuberville said the challenge is intended to create doubt among Alabama voters ahead of the general election.
“Again, they’ll throw all kinds of things at us for the next three or four months, but we’re prepared for it,” he said.
Jordan Doufexis, chairman of Tuberville’s campaign, echoed that sentiment in a statement Tuesday.
“Doug Jones and his Democrat lawyers are doing exactly what everyone expected — dragging their failed residency hoax to the Alabama Supreme Court after a Democrat circuit judge threw it out,” Doufexis said. “They lost on the facts, they lost on the law, and now they are hoping a notice of appeal can breathe life into a political stunt Alabama voters already see through. Tommy Tuberville is the senior United States senator for Alabama. He has a driver’s license, a voter registration, and has been paying taxes here for more than seven years. The only people that question his residency are the Democrats that don’t like his policies.”
“Coach Tuberville will keep campaigning while DC Doug keeps hiding behind lawyers because he cannot win this race on the issues,” Doufexis continued. “The courts have rejected this nonsense once, and we are confident they will reject it again.”
Tuberville faces Democratic nominee and former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones in the November 3 general election.
Sawyer Knowles is a state and political reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].
