A Montgomery County Circuit Court judge has ruled that Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen acted within the law in keeping Morgan Murphy’s name on the May 19 Republican primary ballot for U.S. Senate, rejecting a legal challenge filed earlier this month.

The lawsuit, filed March 11, questioned whether Murphy’s name should remain on the ballot after the candidate attempted to withdraw from the race, according to a news release. Following a hearing, Judge James Anderson determined that Allen and other election officials complied with Alabama law in their handling of the matter.

“I followed the law to the letter,” Allen said in the release. “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.”

Under Alabama law, a candidate’s name can only be removed from a party primary ballot if the candidate formally withdraws through the party and the party certifies that withdrawal to the Secretary of State by a statutory deadline. In Murphy’s case, no such certification was submitted by the Alabama Republican Party, leaving election officials with no legal basis to remove the name from the ballot.

The ruling ensures ballots will proceed as planned as county officials finalize preparations ahead of the primary. Election administrators are working under statutory deadlines to distribute absentee ballots, including those for military and overseas voters, to ensure timely participation in the election.

A copy of the court’s order is available at www.sos.alabama.gov.