Judge allows challenge to Alabama Democratic Party rules changes to proceed

A federal judge in Montgomery ruled today that former Alabama Democratic Party officials can intervene in a lawsuit settled 30 years ago to pursue their claims challenging new bylaws adopted by the party in 2019.

The lawsuit is the most recent development in a Democratic Party split that surfaced in 2018 and led to changes in the party’s leadership.

Today, U.S. District Judge Austin Huffaker Jr., ruled that former party officials Randy Kelley and Janet May can proceed with their claims that the 2019 bylaws violated a 1991 federal court consent decree. The consent decree was intended to make Black representation in the party’s leadership proportional to the Black share of Alabama’s Democratic voters.

Huffaker made no decision on the merits of the claims by Kelley and May, who alleged that the 2019 changes reduced the voting power of the Black members of the State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC). Kelley and May claim the bylaws violated the 1991 consent decree, the Voting Rights Act, and the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution.

Read more: https://www.al.com/news/2021/07/judge-allows-challenge-to-alabama-democratic-party-rules-changes-to-proceed.html