A Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge ruled on Wednesday that Morgan Murphy's name must remain on the May 19 Republican primary ballot for U.S. Senate after announcing he was dropping out of the race on Monday.
The ruling came after a lawsuit was filed on Wednesday, challenging whether Murphy's name should appear on the ballot. After hearing the matter, Montgomery County Circuit Judge James Anderson determined that the Secretary of State and other election officials acted in accordance with Alabama law.
"I followed the law to the letter," Allen said in a statement on Thursday. "It is unfortunate that the court's time had to be spent resolving an issue that Alabama law already makes crystal clear. With this ruling, voters can be confident that my office is acting in accordance with the law and that, despite baseless political attacks, we will continue to administer Alabama's elections faithfully and correctly."
A candidate's name will only be removed from a party's primary ballot if the candidate withdraws from the party and the party certifies the withdrawal of its nominee to the Secretary of State by the statutory deadline. No certification of withdrawal for Morgan Murphy was received from the Alabama Republican Party, so the candidate's name remains on the ballot as required, according to a press release from Allen.
County officials are currently preparing ballots according to timelines established by law to ensure timely absentee voting, including for military and overseas voters, according to the Secretary of State's Office.
Bryan Taylor, an attorney representing Murphy, said in a letter to Alabama Republican Party chairman State Rep. Scott Stadthagen (R-Hartselle) on Thursday, "It is incomprehensible that any ballots were printed before the running of the statutory deadline for candidate withdrawals, see Ala. Code § 17-6-21(c), or amendments to a party's certification, see Ala. Code § 17-6-21(b), especially considering that the deadline was widely publicized on the Secretary of State's own Administrative Calendar for the 2026 elections. The very reason for the statutory deadline for corrections is to ensure that incorrect ballots are not printed."
"Nonetheless, the Secretary's Office confirmed that ballots were already being printed and did not transmit Murphy's Notice of Withdrawal to the probate judges, advise the Murphy campaign to so, or take any other steps to assist the campaign in correcting the ballot to remove Morgan Murphy's name. Consequently, Morgan Murphy was forced to file an action in Montgomery County Circuit Court, joined by a voter and Congressman Barry Moore, another candidate in the U.S. Senate race, to try to remedy the ballot issue without the assistance or cooperation of the Secretary of State's Office. The action sought a temporary restraining order (TRO) to enjoin the continue printing, distribution, and use of inaccurate primary election ballots listing Morgan Murphy as a candidate.
"For some reason, the Secretary's Office actively opposed the filing and sought dismissal instead of accepting the judge's invitation at the hearing to agree to correct the ballot issue before more inaccurate ballots were printed," Taylor said. "The primary purpose of the requested TRO was to prevent voter confusion and protect the voters' right to receive a correct ballot listing only candidates for whom votes could be counted. Unfortunately, that effort was unsuccessful. The Court today issued its order (attached) declining to issue a TRO on the basis that the campaign did not separately file the withdrawal with each of the 68 probate judges across Alabama, notwithstanding the lack of guidance or assistance from the Secretary of State's Office. As a result, many voters may mistakenly believe that Morgan Murphy is still a candidate and mark his name on their ballot, effectively "giving away" their vote in the U.S. Senate election since it cannot be counted. See Ala. Code 17-6-21(c). The premature printing of ballots—and the opposition to their correction—is hard to understand. But the Morgan Murphy campaign stands ready to assist the Party and the other candidates in maximizing voter awareness that Morgan Murphy has withdrawn from the U.S. Senate race and they should disregard his name on the ballot."
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