Thursday on CNN’s “OutFront,” Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said if the state’s Republican Party requested that Republican U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore be removed as the party’s candidate, he would “honor” that request but Moore would stay on the ballot.

Partial transcript as follows:

BURNETT: Let me ask you, secretary, you point out the state party. The state party, the GOP, could request that you, the secretary of state, disqualify a candidate on the ballot, even if they want to stay on the ballot. From his tweets, doesn’t sound like he is going anywhere. If they make the request to you, will you honor it?

MERRILL: He would not be removed from the ballot, but then again, there’s a number of other things that will follow a protocol if the party takes that permanent step and if they do, we will adhere to their request and we will honor their request as we should by law, and then we’ll make sure that the proper adjudication of the process is adhered to as the election continues.