State Republican Party amends bylaws to allow disqualification of elected officials who appoint Democrats to vacancies

The Alabama Republican Party has amended its bylaws to allow disqualification of elected Republican officials from running on the party's ticket if they appoint a Democrat to a vacancy during their term of office.

And the chairman of the Franklin County Republican Executive Committee says the amendment came, in part, after Gov. Kay Ivey twice filled vacancies in Franklin County with someone other than the candidate recommended by the Franklin County Candidate Review Committee.

The ALGOP approved the amendment during its Summer Meeting, held August 1-2 in Montgomery.

The amendment was approved by 83% of attendees at the Summer Meeting. The relevant language reads as follows: Beginning January 1, 2027, any Republican elected official shall appoint only Republicans to fill vacancies for all partisan elected offices that may be filled by such official. Failure to heed this admonition will be viewed negatively by the Candidate Committee. However, if such official is unable to locate a qualified Republican to appoint to a position, the official shall request recommendations from the Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party and shall allow 21 days for a recommendation to be made. If no qualified individual can be located and recommended, the Candidate Committee shall not view said appointment negatively.

Partisan-elected Republican officials are strongly encouraged to appoint Republicans to fill all various positions whenever possible and as allowable by law.

The ALGOP's Candidate Committee reviews declarations of candidacy filed by every person wanting to run for elected office as a Republican. The committee has the authority to direct the party chairman to deny or withhold certification for any candidate deemed to be unqualified. The bylaws also give the Candidate Committee authority to deny ballot access to elected officials who qualify as Republican but are not officially recognized as a Republican.

Additionally, elected officials who are members of a political party other than the Republican Party, or are independents, must follow the 'Switching Parties' procedure in the ALGOP bylaws.

Interestingly, the new amendment doesn't take effect until 2027, when Alabama will have a new governor, so it doesn't apply to Ivey's final 17 months in office.

Introduced by Suzelle Josey, who represents Autauga County on the state committee, the amendment carries a specific message to Republican elected officials tasked with filling vacancies: Republicans should appoint Republicans.

State Auditor Andrew Sorrell serves as Chairman of the ALGOP's Bylaws Committee. Sorrell said there are 'at least a dozen' times in the past 10 years where Ivey has appointed Democrats in counties where there were 'qualified Republicans' willing to serve. 

State Senator Sam Givhan, a Huntsville resident, ushered through an amendment clarifying the rule only applies to Republican elected officials in partisan offices. That exempts mayors in Alabama, for example, as municipal officials run in non-partisan elections.

Givhan also shared concerns about restricting a governor's discretion to make appointments in heavy Democratic areas where it may prove difficult to find a qualified Republican candidate.

Following the death earlier this year of Franklin County District One Commissioner Michael Murray, Garrison said the Franklin County Candidate Review Committee recommended Joey Norton be appointed to the vacancy.

Garrison said Norton was the only one of the five applicants who asked to be considered by the Franklin County Republican Executive Committee.

“The others went directly to the governor’s office. It’s not supposed to work that way. It’s supposed to be a recommendation from the local committee to the governor, or if the local committee declines to make a recommendation, then it’s passed to the state,” Garrison said.

“When I called the governor’s office, they told me the governor reserves the right to make any decision she wants with no recourse. They said we’d like to hear from you, but we don’t have to follow your recommendation. They said we had until Friday, so only four days to put something together,” Garrison added.

Ivey eventually selected Murray’s son Grayson to fill the remainder of his father’s term.

“Kay Ivey did it to us again. I didn’t think anyone was watching, but they were. She’s done this before. Suzelle Josey said Ivey has appointed 10 Democrats but she’s actually appointed 23 non-Republican judges. You would think a Republican governor would appoint Republicans but most of the time she does not. We are hoping for a more cooperative governor in the future,” Garrison said.

But Jeannie Negron Burniston, Director of Legislative Affairs and Communications with the ALGOP, said Ivey was never bound to follow the local committee’s recommendation and Ivey appointed a qualified Republican candidate.

“At our 2025 Summer Meeting, the Alabama Republican Party adopted an update to our Standing Rules that will require Republican elected officials, beginning in 2027, to appoint Republicans when filling vacancies for partisan elected offices,” Burniston said.

“While this provision is not yet in effect, Governor Ivey’s recent appointment of Grayson Murray—a Republican—to the Franklin County Commission aligns with the spirit of this future requirement,” she added.

When Brian Hamilton was appointed in April 2022 to fill the Franklin County Circuit Judge’s vacancy, Garrison said Hamilton was not a Republican at the time he was appointed. The local committee, Garrison said, recommended Jamie Sumerel for the position.

“When Brian Hamilton was appointed by the governor, he was not a Republican. he went for the appointment to the governor’s office and we did not give him standing as a Republican,” Garrison said.

Garrison said after Ivey appointed Hamilton, her office contacted Garrison wanting the Franklin County Republican Committee to ‘make Judge Hamilton a Republican.’ 

Garrison said the local party complied with the governor’s request, but would not do it again if the governor did not take the local committee’s recommendation for a vacancy.

Burniston said there was no discussion at the Summer Meeting about prior Franklin County appointments and nothing related to Franklin County contributed to the amendment approved last weekend.

The party also set qualifying dates for the 2026 Alabama primary election set for May 19, 2026. State and county GOP candidates must file their declarations of candidacy between January 5th and January 23rd, 2026. Qualifying will end at 5 p.m., January 23, 2026.