A subcommittee of the Democratic National Committee on Friday afternoon approved new bylaws for the state party and effectively ordered current leadership to hold new elections by mid-October or risk state representation at the next Democratic National Convention.

The new bylaws, submitted by a group that includes prominent Democrats in the Alabama House of Representatives, aimed at improving representation of minority groups besides African Americans, were submitted by a group of members of the State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC), which decides policy and leadership of the state party.

“I think the train kind of derailed in Alabama, and I think this is an effort to put it back on track,” said Lorraine Miller, the chair of the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC), which approved the measure.

Alabama Democratic Party chair Nancy Worley said in a statement Friday she had not seen what was approved, but wrote "I don't think Alabama Democrats want the DNC setting policies and procedures for Alabama to live by."

"The Alabama Democratic Party has written two sets of bylaws for the DNC and they have not approved either, so what makes their set special — we shall read them and find out," she wrote.

The DNC’s decision adds to the pressure the Alabama Democratic Party faces from the national party in resolving governance issues. Without a delegate plan, Alabama would go unrepresented at the Democratic National Convention next year.

The new bylaws must be approved by current state party leadership, but Harold Ickes, a member of the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee, said a majority of the SDEC could convene its own meeting if Worley does not convene a meeting on her own.

“Given the lack of cooperation I am not at all sanguine that Worley is going to do any of this,” said Ickes, a member of the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee who has been representing the DNC in the dispute.

Worley would have 10 days from receipt of the approved bylaws to set a meeting of the SDEC to approve the bylaws, but a meeting would have to take place by Oct. 5. New leadership elections would have to take place on Oct. 19. The DNC would monitor those.

"It hasn’t been determined who gets the honor yet," Yvette Lewis, an RBC member who represented the DNC with Ickes the fight, said. "But in light of the circumstance of what’s gone on before, it’s mandatory that we have someone there."

The Alabama Democratic Party has been torn by controversy over its direction after a series of state-level losses. Critics of chair Nancy Worley say she has done little to invest in the party at the local level or provide support to Democratic candidates. Worley has argued that she is trying pay to off party debts and has no resources to invest in the party.

At a meeting of the State Democratic Executive Committee (SDEC) In August 2018, Worley, with the backing of Joe Reed, the vice-chair of minority affairs for the state party, held off an effort backed by U.S. Sen. Doug Jones to replace her. But the DNC ordered new elections in February, ruling that some members of the SDEC who voted that day lacked proper credentials.

Current bylaws allow Reed to seat a certain number of members on the SDEC to reflect the presence of African Americans in the state Democratic electorate. The full SDEC does not review Reed’s decisions, and critics say that allows him to swing votes to his preferred candidates.

The DNC ordered a review of the state bylaws, saying they did not provide adequate representation of minority groups besides African Americans on the SDEC. Since then, the DNC and Worley have been in a standoff. The DNC has said the state party has dragged its feet and missed deadlines, and has told the state party the SDEC in the future will need to vote on whether to seat anyone nominated by the Minority Caucus.

The new bylaws approved by the RBC would set keep the current minority caucus in place but create new caucuses for Hispanics, Asian-Americans, Native Americans, youth, LGBTQ individuals and those with disabilities. The caucuses would nominate members to the SDEC. A nominee from any caucus could only be rejected by a two-thirds vote of the full SDEC.

Worley has accused the DNC of sending contradictory or confusing information. In August, the DNC voted to revoke Worley’s credentials and those of vice-chair Randy Kelly. The DNC has withheld party-building money — about $10,000 a month — due to what it said was a lack of planning on the state party's party.

More:DNC committee recommends revocation of Alabama Democratic Party chair, vice-chair's credentials

More:DNC Chair: Alabama Democrats not getting party-building funds

The bylaws adopted by the RBC were submitted by members of the SDEC calling itself Concerned Alabama Democrats. The group included House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville and Democratic Reps. Napoleon Bracy of Prichard and Christopher England of Tuscaloosa.

"In Alabama, reports grow daily in the press of continued inaction of the SDEC and our ability to be adequately recognized," the SDEC members wrote in a memo to the RBC dated Sept. 19 and obtained by the Advertiser. "We are concerned about the ability of hundreds of thousands of Alabama Democrats to participate in the selection of our Party's nominee for President."

If the state party stalls on adoption of the bylaws or new elections, the RBC emphasized that failure to do so could jeopardize the Democrats’ delegate selection plan, which needs to be approved by Nov. 8. The resolution also included procedural matters to prevent what Ickes called the "Keystone Kops"-like conduct of the 2018 election.

Tabitha Isner, a former Democratic congressional candidate who is running for party chair, has started her own effort to resolve the standoff with the national party. Isner, who is not a member of the SDEC, is trying to organize Democrats to work to resolve the issues with the national party.

“I think it’s a great example of the tragedy of the commons, where everybody knew that we needed to cooperate to get the best possible outcome,” Isner said in an interview on Thursday.

Jones addressed a meeting of Isner’s group via conference call on Wednesday, though he said in an interview he was not endorsing Isner’s candidacy and was trying to give those working on the party’s behalf an update on the current situation.

“The state of Alabama needs a functional Democratic Party,” Jones said. “The state of Alabama needs a competitive two-party system to function. And that’s why we’re doing this.”

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Brian Lyman at 334-240-0185 or blyman@gannett.com.