Fayette County clerk says no court order requires removal of school board chair’s name from November ballot

Fayette County’s November ballot for the Fayette County Public School Board of Education chair race will include the name of chair Tyler Murphy, according to a statement Tuesday from County Clerk Susan Lamb.

In the statement, Lamb said her office has not been ordered by a circuit judge to remove Murphy’s name from the ballot. The clerk’s position indicates the dispute over ballot language has not yet resulted in a court directive that would change how the election materials are prepared for November.

The Fayette County school board chair is listed on the ballot through the county clerk’s office, which is responsible for managing election administration in the county, including ballot printing and the placement of candidate names where required by law and election schedules.

Murphy’s continued placement on the ballot follows an issue that has been before the courts, according to WKYT’s reporting, with the relevant question for the clerk’s office centered on whether a circuit judge has issued an order requiring removal.

Lamb’s statement ties the ballot question directly to the existence of a formal court order. In practical terms, election officials generally rely on written directives from courts to make changes that affect already-prepared election materials and the ballot language voters will receive.

With Murphy’s name remaining scheduled for the November ballot absent a circuit judge’s removal order, the next steps for the case will depend on further court activity, including whether any order is issued later and how quickly election administration timelines can accommodate such changes.

The clerk’s statement does not, in the reporting cited by WKYT, provide additional details on the underlying claims in the dispute, the timeline of any filings, or whether additional hearings are scheduled. Those points would remain dependent on the court record and subsequent orders, if any.