Judge tosses Tuberville residency suit, leaving eligibility fight open

A procedural win without a merits ruling

A Montgomery County circuit judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging Republican gubernatorial nominee Tommy Tuberville’s eligibility to serve as Alabama governor, but did not decide whether he meets the state’s seven-year residency requirement.alreporter Circuit Judge Brooke E. Reid ruled Thursday that the plaintiffs’ remaining quo warranto claim was not the proper vehicle to test a certified party nominee before the general election, leaving Tuberville on the ballot for now.alreporter

The case was brought by Brooke Lynn Dorgan and Justin Jude LeBlanc, who argued that Tuberville failed to satisfy Article V, Section 117 of the Alabama Constitution, which requires a governor to be at least 30, a U.S. citizen for 10 years and a resident citizen of Alabama for seven years before election day.alreporter +1 Tuberville is scheduled to face Democrat Doug Jones on Nov. 3 after winning the Republican nomination.al

The fight turns on timing and jurisdiction

Reid’s order found that quo warranto is generally aimed at someone unlawfully holding or exercising public office, while Tuberville is currently a nominee rather than governor.alreporter She wrote that Alabama law had not extended that remedy to a certified nominee before the general election, even though she also rejected the idea that courts have no role in enforcing constitutional eligibility requirements when properly invoked.alreporter

That procedural line has been the center of the dispute for weeks. Tuberville’s lawyers argued in a motion to dismiss that the courts lacked jurisdiction and that candidate selection, nominee certification and any gubernatorial election contest belong to voters, political parties and, after the election, the Legislature.alabamareflector The plaintiffs countered that the residency question is constitutional and should be resolved before voters cast ballots.wsfa

An appeal could move quickly

The ruling is final for purposes of immediate appeal, giving the plaintiffs a path to the Alabama Supreme Court.alreporter Reid had already signaled after a June hearing that the state’s high court would likely have the last word because there was no clear precedent on whether a court could disqualify a certified nominee before the election.al

The underlying residency fight remains unresolved. Tuberville has said he moved back to Auburn in 2019, while challengers have pointed to his family’s Florida property and sought records including moving, voting and medical information.alabamareflector +1 Alabama Republicans previously rejected a party-level residency challenge and certified him as the GOP nominee, a fact Reid cited in describing the election-law framework around the case.alreporter +1