Freshman State Rep. David Cole (R-Madison) asked for a stay in the contested election lawsuit on Friday in Madison County Circuit Court, a few days before he is scheduled to be deposed at the State House.
If the court doesn't grant the stay request, Cole is scheduled to be deposed in the Alabama State House on May 17 in a lawsuit alleging he didn't fulfill residency requirements to serve in the role.
Cole won the House District 10 seat in 2022 with 51.6% of the vote in the general election. Marilyn Lands, a Democrat, received 45%, and Elijah Boyd, a Libertarian, won 3.4%.
Boyd filed a complaint for contesting the election in Madison County Circuit Court on November 22, alleging Cole wasn't eligible under state law to serve as State Representative for House District 10 due to him not being a resident of the district and him not being a resident of the district for one year prior to the general election on November 8.
Cole requested in the motion to stay filing on Friday for the court to "stay all further proceedings in this matter pending the resolution of the issues" raised by Cole in a petition for writ of mandamus filed on April 27, now pending before the Alabama Supreme Court.
Cole's petition before the Alabama Supreme Court seeks to limit the number of questions Boyd's attorney can ask Cole in the deposition from Boyd's submitted 479 questions to a total "not to exceed" 50 questions.
"Boyd should be limited to a reasonable number, not to exceed 50 interrogatories, necessary to develop sufficient facts to determine the issue presented–where was Cole's residence on November 7, 2021. It is simply unnecessary to have the responses to 479 interrogatories to determine such an uncomplicated issue," Algert and Barbara Agricola wrote in the Alabama Supreme Court petition filed on April 27.
Barry Ragsdale, Boyd's attorney, didn't immediately return a request for comment on Friday afternoon.
Ragsdale told 1819 News in April, "Normally, these election contests get resolved very quickly," and Cole has "done everything in his power and frankly some things outside of his power to delay this and keep it from happening so that we can get to the bottom of where he really lived."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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