The Democratic National Committee has told the Alabama Democratic Party to redo a vote that changed the state party’s bylaws in May, finding that some members of the state party were wrongly excluded from the vote that eliminated several caucuses, including one for members who identified as LGBTQ+.

The DNC approved a resolution after investigating challenges from several members of Alabama’s State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC), an investigation that included a hearing on Sept. 8.

The resolution is the latest development in a conflict within the Alabama party and between the state party and the DNC that goes back at least five years.

At the May meeting, the SDEC voted to change bylaws passed in 2019 that created diversity caucuses on the SDEC for individuals who identify as LGBTQ+, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American, Youth (35 and under), and disabled persons.

A faction of the SDEC supported by the DNC and former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones pushed through the bylaws creating the diversity caucuses in 2019 over opposition from a faction led by Joe Reed, the longtime leader of the state party’s Black caucus, the Alabama Democratic Conference.

Reed’s faction claimed the changes, including the creation of the new diversity caucuses, diminished the influence of the Black caucus. Reed’s faction regained control of the SDEC in August 2022, electing Huntsville pastor Randy Kelley as chair.

That set the stage for the meeting in May, when the SDEC voted 63-49 to change the bylaws.

Three SDEC members, including First Vice Chair Tabitha Isner of Montgomery, filed challenges with the DNC about how the meeting in May was conducted, the vote, and the changes to the bylaws.

The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee held a nine-hour hearing in September and heard more oral arguments on Friday. The Rules and Bylaws Committee passed a resolution that was adopted by the DNC on Saturday.

The resolution said some SDEC members did not receive notice of the May meeting, including some members of the diversity caucuses. The resolution says some members were told they could not vote because they had not paid a $50 fee. But they had no advance notice of that requirement and were not allowed to pay it at the meeting, the resolution says. That prevented some members from voting and could have affected the outcome, the resolution says.

The resolution says Alabama’s amended bylaws are in conflict with the DNC’s charter and bylaws because they deny certain diversity constituents an opportunity to elect at-large members.

The resolution orders SDEC Chair Kelley to propose a set of bylaws by Nov. 28. It orders the SDEC to vote on the proposed bylaws by Feb. 1. It requires all members, including members of the diversity groups, to receive at least a 10-day notice of the meeting.

First Vice Chair Isner said the party should use the requirement to change the bylaws as a chance to find common ground and make the party stronger. Isner said one reason that’s especially important now is because a new congressional map approved by a federal court gives Alabama Democrats a chance to win a second U.S. House seat next year.

“If we could get everybody to sit down at the table and really talk out what the issues are and come to some kind of compromise agreement that’s still in compliance with the DNC, that would be a great step forward for us as a party building towards unity,” Isner said.

“And this is a particularly important time to be talking about party unity because we have a new congressional district that we need to pull together to win.”