A Montgomery County courtroom has heard arguments in a lawsuit challenging the Alabama residency of Republican gubernatorial nominee Tommy Tuberville. The lawsuit, filed by Brooke Lynn Dorgan and Justin Jude LeBlanc, claims that Tuberville hasn’t lived in Alabama for seven years, a requirement to run for governor under state law.

Background

The lawsuit seeks to have Tuberville prove that he has been an Alabama resident since November 3, 2019. Tuberville has faced accusations that he has been a resident of Florida, where he owns a beach home in addition to a home in Auburn. Despite these questions, Tuberville won the Republican primary for governor with 85% of the vote in May.

His attorneys want the lawsuit dismissed, arguing that it’s the Alabama Legislature, not a court judge, that has authority over elections. "The people have decided who sits in the legislature. You have to accept the people’s voice now. They don’t want to accept the voice of the people. We do. We want to accept the voice of the people and we want to follow the Constitution of Alabama," said Joe Espy, an attorney for Tuberville.

Barry Ragsdale, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said, "This is a very technical question of law. We’ve got a judge that’s going to read it all and analyze it and I have faith that she’ll make the right decision."

Tuberville faced similar claims by Ken McFeeters, who was an opponent of Tuberville’s in last month’s Republican primary. McFeeters received 9.5% of the vote in the primary. On Sunday, June 14, the Alabama Republican Party held a hearing that affirmed Tuberville was qualified to be Alabama governor based on tax forms, property records, and other documents.

Original reporting: Alabama News Network — read the source article.