Alabama Supreme Court dismisses Tuberville residency challenge

The court challenge to Tommy Tuberville’s eligibility to serve as governor is officially dead. 

The Alabama Supreme Court on Friday issued a ruling in the case challenging Tuberville’s residency, agreeing with a lower court’s opinion that such a challenge was not allowed under Alabama law and that no court has the standing to hear a challenge to a candidate’s eligibility. 

It is a decision that will have far-reaching consequences, essentially affirming that the only means of challenging the constitutional eligibility of candidates for statewide office is through party challenges and a post-election challenge heard by the Alabama Legislature.

“... our decisions in such cases have generally adhered to the rule that a primary-election contest brought under the primary-election contest statutes is the exclusive method authorized by law to challenge a party nominee's qualification for office before the general election,” the ALSC opinion reads. “We conclude that the circuit court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to consider the relators' action and that it, therefore, properly dismissed the action.”

The case before the ALSC had nothing to do with Tuberville’s actual eligibility, but was instead a complicated legal question concerning the responsibility of the courts in election challenges. Alabama law makes it rather clear that courts, in general, are to steer clear of election challenges, choosing instead to leave that responsibility to the individual parties and the voters. 

To get around that, the challengers in the Tuberville case filed what is known as a “quo warranto” action, which is allowable under Alabama law to challenge the constitutional eligibility of an office holder. However, that brought with it another obvious problem – Tuberville is not yet an office holder. 

The challengers, though, argued that Alabama law also recognizes a party nominee as a “quasi-state official,” and so he should therefore be subject to a quo warranto challenge. 

A Montgomery County Circuit Court judge heard the case earlier this year and ultimately determined that she could find no authority in the law for her court to issue a ruling, although she also said the arguments from the challengers were well taken and should be determined by the state’s highest court. 

That court essentially agreed with her on Friday.

“Nine court decisions. Nine wins. 9-0,” said Jordan Doufexis, Sen. Tuberville’s current chief of staff and his gubernatorial campaign manager. “Today's Alabama Supreme Court decision is another reminder that people ought to stop listening to folks who don't know Alabama law.

"For the past 7 years, Democrats and the Left-wing media have pushed a lie in an attempt to destroy Alabama’s senior United States Senator and keep him from becoming Governor," Doufexis continued. "They doxxed him. They released his tax returns. They lied about his home, including his floor plan. They maliciously drug Coach's family through the mud for their preferred candidate Doug Jones with ZERO evidence. And every time a court swatted down the attacks, they told you why it would be appealed and Tuberville would lose in the next court. They wasted Alabama taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars because they wanted to smear Coach’s name even though they knew this was all a lie because they had the facts all along. 

“Well, we’ve now got 9 court decisions and ALL of them ruled in favor of Coach: 9-0. Alabamians have been lied to by Doug Jones from day 1. It's time to quit playing games with our elections and let the people of Alabama have their say. Tommy Tuberville is a resident of Alabama. Tommy Tuberville is on the ballot. And the people of Alabama are going to remember it on November 3.”

The challenge to Tuberville’s constitutional eligibility based on his residency never actually made it to court. 

In addition to the quo warranto challenge, Tuberville also faced two attempts and several appeals from his Republican primary opponent, Ken McFeeters, who also insisted that the former Auburn football coach had failed to meet the Alabama constitution’s requirement that a governor be a resident of the state for the previous seven years prior to the general election. Like the quo warranto action, however, those court filings were dismissed because the judges agreed that the courts had no standing to hear the matters. 

The facts of the residency challenge have only been heard once in a formal setting, and even then there were deep disagreements over the manner in which the hearing was held and whether the rules were followed appropriately. That hearing came when the Alabama Republican Party’s executive committee granted McFeeters’ challenge request and held a truncated hearing at a Birmingham law firm in June. 

Tuberville agreed to answer questions under oath during the hearing, and McFeeters’ attorney was allowed 40 minutes – shortened from the two hours required by ALGOP bylaws – to question Tuberville. Tuberville also submitted a number of documents to prove his residency, including eight years’ worth of state tax returns, but ALGOP also determined that it would not require him to submit documents subpoenaed by McFeeters, as the bylaws require. 

The 21-member committee said it found enough evidence to vote unanimously to dismiss the challenge and allow Tuberville to remain on the ballot. Shortly thereafter, the quo warranto challenge was filed and began making its way through the Alabama court system – a path that ended on Friday. 

“We are obviously disappointed with the decision, but not particularly surprised,” said attorney Barry Ragsdale, who filed the challenge on behalf of two Alabama veterans. “It is unfortunate that the voters will not be allowed to learn the truth about Tommy Tuberville’s lies and the lengths to which he has gone to deceive the public and the courts. There is simply no question that Tuberville is constitutionally ineligible to be governor. His continued misrepresentations about where he actually lives show that he is also morally unfit for the job. 

“Today’s decision opens the door to ineligible candidates, including non-U.S. citizens, to seek elected office so long as the political parties fail to do their jobs in ensuring that their nominees comply with the Constitution. It is another sad day for the Rule of Law.” 

The decision now leaves only a post-election challenge, assuming Tuberville is elected governor, as an option for anyone seeking to question Tuberville’s constitutional eligibility. But the likelihood of success of that challenge also seems rather grim. 

The post-election challenge would be managed by a circuit court, which would set rules for discovery and settle disputes, but the ultimate decision on whether or not the challenge is successful rests with the Republican-dominated Alabama Legislature.